US Government Faces Pressure After Biggest Leak in Banking History

A huge leak of undeclared bank accounts will prompt regulators and justice officials to explain the investigation’s status and punishments. The data suggest that suggests the Swiss offices of HSBC helped clients – hedge fund managers, athletes, fashion models, entertainers and royalty, including the king of Jordan – hide more than $100 billion in assets. So far, 61 of 106,000 clients have been revealed. A US Senate report noted that drug traffickers had taken advantage of loose anti-money laundering controls. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists obtained and reported on the leaked files. "The data was leaked by a computer expert turned whistle blower working in HSBC’s Geneva office,” reports Paul Lewis for the Guardian. “French authorities later obtained the files and shared them with the US Internal Revenue Service in 2010. That year, amid growing scrutiny from US tax authorities, HSBC’s private bank in Switzerland stopped doing business with US residents entirely.” Many analysts anticipate a public outcry and new push for prosecution of associated individuals. – YaleGlobal