The publication in various media world of some 106,000 names mentioned evaders clients of Swiss subsidiary of HSBC has stirred some powerful elites and the tax authorities.
The Informant, Hervé Falciani, a former employee of the British computer expert and bank ensures that the entity armed, from 90, a complex framework to attract all kinds of millionaires, with the promise that their identities and balances their accounts would remain under the strictest confidentiality, armored tax authorities in their respective countries.
The hard disk Falciani subtracted from the offices of his employer terminated in the hands of French and Spanish authorities-including the names of the 286 Colombians citizens, and allowed to decipher the HSBC bank’s strategy to hide funds.
Research indicates that only between 2005 and 2007 , moved 120,000 million, 1.3 times the external debt of Colombia.
Of that money, 276.4 million dollars come from Colombia, and one of them concentrated 57 million. In fact, TIME established that a group of brokers was devoted to finding customers in Bogotá for HSBC, including exclusive social circles.
Following investigative reports have surfaced the customer names and modus operandi of this gigantic banking maneuver.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), led by the French daily Le Monde (who obtained the list) has found, for example, that powerful Saudis and Americans billions were registered as housewives. This is the case of the influential publicist gringa Mary Wells and Princess Lolawad Arabic al-Faisal al Saud, who have refused to clarify its figuration in the Swiss Leaks or ‘list Falciani’ as the scandal known.
total, in the list there are 7,300 clients listed as housewives and 4,000 more, no profession or students. That feature called the attention of the authorities
The other common denominator among customers is suspected that opened accounts in Europe but recorded their homes in known tax havens. Virgin Islands, islands Cayman and St. Vincent and Granada are listed. Also changed his nationality
| Following investigative reports have surfaced the names of customers and the modus operandi of this gigantic banking maneuver.
|
Criminals
According told Le Monde Falciani, HSBC’s advisers met with clients in luxury restaurants or cited in hotels for instruction on using fictitious addresses, aliases and delete tracks.
This last strategy sought shelter clients disreputable, as people involved in illicit drug trafficking, arms and diamonds, ex-convicts, heirs exdictadores and corrupt businessmen.
In figure that list, among others, Arturo del Tiempo Marques, arrested in Spain in 2010 for trying to introduce 1,200 kilos of cocaine. The Spanish builder had 19 accounts in the Swiss HSBC between 2006 and 2007, killing bordering three million dollars.
diamond dealers Mozes Victor Konig and Kenneth Lee also appear Akselrod, wanted by Interpol.
In the coming weeks will out names of other customers who preferred to go to their tax experts lawyers to explain its appearance in the ‘list Falciani’ and alleged evasion tax in their country, where such conduct is criminal.
Thanks to Falciani, United States sanctioned the HSBC 200 million and Spain recovered 260 million euros. Now the controversy in this country is why they did not bring prisoners evaders and only applied to them the fines provided.
What are inquiries from authorities in the country
Investigative Unit. If it is found that there is a Colombian industrialist who appropriated $ 57 million in hidden HSBC accounts, your balance will not be enough to pay the penalty provided for Dian: 160 percent of income tax to be paid for having money abroad. That is the first conclusion reached by the tax authorities confirmed this week, as revealed TIME, which for 10 months asked the call ‘list Falciani’ the French Ministry of Finance. Another line of research is tracking a group of brokers who offered between employers privilege of opening an HSBC account in Switzerland and could give many names.
u.investigativa@eltiempo .com
* With information from Le Monde, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and journalistic platform Connectas.
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