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Argentine Parliament probes HSBC tax evasion scandal

Thursday, 26 March 2015 9:47 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 26 March 2015 9:46 AM ]

Manoel Giffoni
Press TV, Buenos Aires

Days after the Argentine Federal Tax Agency raided the HSBC Headquarters in the country, and following a law put forward by President Cristina Kirchner, the National Congress set up a special committee to probe the alleged criminal activity by the British banking giant and its accountability in the international tax evasion scandal known as Swiss Leaks.

The new parliamentary commission is made up by members of the Senate and the Lower House and is set to provide the Federal Court key evidence for the case.Congressmen are expected to press HSBC officers for answers in the coming days and the board of directors has been summoned to testify next week.

According to the probe carried out by the Federal Tax Agency, HSBC has helped thousands of shell companies and individuals across Latin America to dodge and stash about 31 billion US dollars in secret Swiss bank accounts. Investigators said the origin of those illegal funds is likely to be related to money laundering, corruption and drug trafficking.

While the committee has ninety days to deliver the final report, Argentine congressmen say that other international financial institutions could also be investigated for similar crimes.

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