By Taos Turner
BUENOS AIRES--Argentina accused three HSBC units of helping more
than 4,000 Argentine citizens avoid paying taxes on money they
allegedly hid in secret Swiss bank accounts.
Argentina's tax agency, AFIP, said on Thursday it had filed a
criminal complaint against HSBC Bank Argentina SA, HSBC Private
Bank Suisse and HSBC Bank USA for their roles in the alleged
scheme. An AFIP official later said the government estimates that
Argentines used HSBC accounts in Switzerland to avoid paying taxes
on assets totaling roughly $3 billion.
In the complaint, Argentina said the HSBC units and managers had
"set up an illegal platform for the sole purpose of helping
Argentine taxpayers evade their taxes." As of 2013, only 125
Argentines had declared having accounts at HSBC's Swiss unit, AFIP
said.
HSBC Argentina categorically denied the accusations.
"HSBC Argentina obeys Argentine law and all of the norms that
regulate its activity in the country," the company said in a
statement.
The tax agency said it obtained information about the accounts
from the French government. Earlier this month, French prosecutors
said they were investigating the Swiss unit of HSBC Holdings PLC
for allegedly laundering the proceeds of tax fraud. At the time,
the bank said it would cooperate with that investigation "to the
fullest extent possible."
Argentina's accusation is the latest international probe into
the alleged aiding of offshore-tax evasion by Swiss banks.
Earlier this month, a Belgian judge alleged that HSBC's Swiss
bank helped Belgians evade taxes by harboring funds in secret
accounts beginning in 2003. HSBC said in written comments that it
is cooperating with that investigation. "Both the Belgian and
French investigations have been notified in our filings previously
and we will continue to cooperate to the fullest extent
possible."
Write to Taos Turner at taos.turner@wsj.com
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