MISSEDLINK

HSBC Files - the Guardian: LINK ¤ the GUARDIAN

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• "the Swiss arm of the bank HSBC - had helped clients - dodge taxes - and hide millions of dollars !"

 

 

 

 

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• "had doled out bundles of cash - and had tried to advise clients - on how to circumvent domestic tax authorities !"

 

 

 

 

 

• "the private bank had often allowed clients to withdraw bricks of cash - often in foreign currencies - of little use in Switzerland !"

 

 

 

 

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• "had marketed taxes schemes - colluded with clients to conceal undeclared "black" accounts !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "and had provided accounts to international criminals - corrupt businessmen - and other high-risk individuals !"

 

 

 

 

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• "Hollywood persons - shopkeepers - royalty - clothing merchants - and people implicated in corruption scandals !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the HSBC files, which covered the period 2005-2007 - amounted to the biggest banking leak in history !"

 

 

 

 

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• "shedded light on 30,000 accounts - holded US$ 120bn of assets !"

 

 

 

 

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• "the bankers had often handed over large sums of cash - to visiting clients - and asked few questions !"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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the HSBC Bank sheltered murky Cash - ICIJ: LINK ¤ I C I J

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• "the documents of the leaked files - based on the inner workings of HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm !"

 

 

 

 

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• "showed the bank’s dealings with clients - engaged in a spectrum - of illegal behavior !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "e.g. hided hundreds of millions of dollars - from tax authorities !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "they also showed private records of soccer players - tennis players - cyclists - rock singers !"

 

 

 

 

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• "Hollywood actors - royalty - politicians - corporate executives - old families - and international outlaws !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the secret files covered accounts associated with more than 100,000 individuals - and legal entities from more than 200 nations !"

 

 

 

 

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• "the account records showed some clients made extra trips to Geneva - withdrawed wads of cash - sometimes in used notes !"

 

 

 

 

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• "as the customer - had wished !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "in many instances the records had described questionable behavior - such as bankers advised clients !"

 

 

 

 

• "took a range of measures - avoided paying taxes - in their home countries !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "and customers had told bankers that their accounts - were not declared to their governments !"

 

 

 

 

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• "some clients were linked to millions - and sometimes tens of millions of dollars in their accounts !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "there were politically-connected figures - such as Rachid Mohamed Rachid !"

 

 

 

 

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• "the former Egyptian trade minister fled Cairo in February 2011 - amid the uprising against Hosni Mubarak !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "Rachid, who was listed as having power of attorney over an account - worth US$ 31 million !"

 

 

 

 

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• "was convicted in absentia for alleged profiteering - and squandering public funds !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "there was Frantz Merceron - the bagman for the late former Haitian President Jean Claude Duvalier !"

 

 

 

 

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• "who was accused of having looted up to US$ 900 million - before fleeing his country !"

 

 

 

 

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• "and there was Rami Makhlouf - cousin of the Syrian Bashar al Assad !"

 

 

 

 

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• "who had worked against his own people - Makhlouf had a range of alleged corrupt businesses !"

 

 

 

 

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• "Makhlouf was listed as a beneficial owner - on multiple accounts !"

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the files featured people who figured in legal proceedings - such as Vladimir Antonov !"

 

 

 

 

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• "former owner of the soccer club Portsmouth FC - who faced trial in Lithuania over an alleged € 500 million bank fraud !"

 

 

 

 

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• "Antonov was listed as a beneficial owner on an account - worth US$ 65 million !"

 

 

 

 

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• "Margulan Seisembayev, a Kazakh banker - accused by the Alliance Bank of looting its assets !"

 

 

 

 

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• "Seisembayev was listed as beneficial owner - of multiple accounts !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "and Tancred Tabone, the former head - of the Malta state oil company Enemalta !"

 

 

 

 

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• "who was facing prosecution for allegedly - demanding bribes !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "others who appeared were Li Xiaolin - daughter of former Chinese Premier Li Peng !"

 

 

 

 

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• "Li Xiaolin was listed, along with her husband - as a beneficial owner of an account that hold US$ 2.5 million !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent - cousin of Queen Elizabeth II - and his wife !"

 

 

 

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• "the account was held in the name of their company - Cantium Services Limited !"

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• "there were King Mohammed VI of Morocco - the Crown prince of Bahrain, Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa !"

 

 

 

 

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• "and dozens of members of Saudi Arabia's family - many were partial or full beneficial owners of accounts !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "there was the owner of the Victoria’s Secret company - Les Wexner !"

 

 

 

 

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• "and the alleged corrupt Israeli diamond-dealing - Steinmetz family !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "many of the accounts had been held by companies - in offshore tax havens !"

 

 

 

 

• "such as the British Virgin Islands - Panama - or in the remote Pacific island of Niue !"

 

 

 

 

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• "some had used de-identified - numbered accounts !"

 

 

 

 

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• "the files showed that some individuals linked to accounts - had taken extra precautions to protect their identities !"

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• "even though HSBC staff had often assured customers - they were already bound by tight Swiss banking secrecy !"

 

 

 

 

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• "acct holder Mr. Ch.B.G. - would like to be called Mr. Shaw !"

 

 

 

 

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• ""so the entire discussion we were speaking about Mr. Shaw" - the staff member wrote in one document !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "at the time of the note - Goode was the chairman of ANZ bank - an Australian bank !"

 

 

 

 

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• "Goode had been called in the Australian Parliament - "a man who was the bag carrier !""

 

 

 

 

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• "the fundraiser - for the conservative - Liberal party !"

 

 

 

 

 

• "the documents raised new questions about past - public statements by HSBC !"

 

 

 

 

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• "in July 2008, for example, Chris Meares, the then head of private banking for HSBC - told a British parliamentary hearing !"

 

 

 

 

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• "we prohibit our bankers from encouraging - or being involved in tax evasion !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the bank itself became uneasy over a - € 20 million transaction by a Serbian businessman !"

 

 

 

 

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• "but the bank employees merely asked him - to act less conspicuously !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "explained that as per today - the bank did not interfere - in his money transfer transactions !"

 

 

 

 

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• "the relevant document said - but would have preferred to reduce those activities on a lower scale !"

 

 

 

 

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• "he understood our concerns - and will use smaller amounts !"

 

 

 

 

 

 

• "the files showed that some customers were given advice - on how to avoid a withholding tax !"

 

 

 

 

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• "on bank savings that came into effect - in European Union countries in 2005 !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "Switzerland had agreed to implement the tax - called the European Savings Directive - or ESD !"

 

 

 

 

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• "but the ESD pertained only to individuals - not to corporations !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "HSBC private bank had seized on this loophole - marketed products that transformed individuals - into corporations for tax-reporting purposes !"

 

 

 

 

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• "the documents recorded that day by day throughout 2005 - clients arrived in Switzerland - and made cash withdrawals !"

 

 

 

 

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• "in Euros - British pounds - Swiss francs - US dollars - even Danish krone - sometimes asking for small used notes !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "in one transaction, the British business person Richard Caring - accompanied by security !"

 

 

 

 

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• "was depicted in September 2005 collected more than - five million Swiss francs in cash !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "HSBC staff explained handing Caring the huge sum of cash - by quoting a statement by him !"

 

 

 

 

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• "that he had planned to deposit the cash with another Swiss bank - and did not want either bank to be aware of the other !"

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the files showed that almost 2,000 of HSBC clients who appeared in the files - were associated with the diamond sector !"

 

 

 

 

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• "among them was Emmanuel Shallop - who had been subsequently convicted of dealing in blood diamonds !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "HSBC was aware that Shallop was under investigation - by Belgian authorities at the time !"

 

 

 

• "we had opened a company account for him based in Dubai - the client was very cautious !"

 

 

 

 

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• "because he was under pressure from Belgian authorities - who were investigating his activities in the area of diamond fiscal fraud !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "people on the Most Wanted list of Interpol - the international police agency !"

 

 

 

 

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• "such as the diamond dealers Mozes Victor Konig - and Kenneth Lee Akselrod !"

 

 

 

 

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• "were among the HSBC - account holders !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "and so was Elias Murr, who was president of the board of - Interpol’s foundation for a safer world !"

 

 

 

 

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• "Murr was a former interior minister of Lebanon - who had been minister when an HSBC account owned by him !"

 

 

 

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• "was held through a company called Callorford Investments Limited - the account had contained US$ 42 million !"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Malpractices of the Bankers - the Guardian: LINK ¤ the GUARDIAN

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• "the HSBC files - the biggest banking leak in history - revealed the full scale of malpractice !"

 

 

 

 

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• "in one case that illustrated the HSBC bank’s conduct - a British client - Stoke City football club director !"

 

 

 

 

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• "Keith Humphreys - who sold a local supermarket chain !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "explained that one HSBC manager had already advised - how to extract undeclared offshore money - via a credit card !"

 

 

 

 

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• "the credit card was used to enable the Humphreys family - made withdrawals from "cash points" - when they were outside the UK !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the banker, who even brought paperwork - to Humphreys’ stately home in Cheshire !"

 

 

 

 

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• "because the client was uneasy about - walking around with a set of account-opening documents !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "recorded how Humphreys was also alarmed to hear - a Swiss lawyer might realise - he had a secret HSBC account !"

 

 

 

 

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• "this situation caused some disquiet to my hosts - the bank manager wrote !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the Genevan lawyers would be discreet - on clinching arrangements in London !"

 

 

 

 

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• "we subsequently repaired to the Ritz - for a very enjoyable lunch !"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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International Investigative Journalism 2.0 - Le Monde: LINK ¤ LE MONDE

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• "on 28 January 2014, Le Monde published a first series of articles - about the French judicial inquiry !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "under the headline tax evasion - the highly sensitive investigation into the HSBC lists !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "a few days after those articles were published - a person appeared at Le Monde’s reception on Boulevard Auguste Blanqui in France !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "this source, whose identity shall remain secret - gave us a memory stick containing all the files !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "the French tax authorities had extracted from the Falciani lists - in the strictest secrecy since 2009 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "whose names we shall publish - if we consider it to be in the public interest ?!"

 

 

 

 

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• "politicians - celebrities - sportsmen - and owners of companies ?! - most of them were keen to hide their money - in Switzerland !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "it was perfectly illegal for the French clients - and for many others - to do this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "they were encouraged by HSBC’s executive committee - had hided behind offshore screen structures - generally based in Panama or the British Virgin Islands !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "Le Monde decided to share it - with the international press !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "to ensure that it will be treated as completely - and accurately as possible !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "in total secrecy, the ICIJ mobilised 154 journalists - from 47 media outlets in various countries !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "40 journalists from around the world - gathered in a room at Le Monde’s offices !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "they knew that this was a major story - but the mass of confidential information !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "they were about to discover - was beyond their wildest imaginings !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the meeting lasted nine hours - with only short breaks to eat !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "it marked the launch of one - of the largest journalistic operations !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the decision to share access to the data - with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, ICIJ - is symbolic !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "a new era in international investigative journalism - 2.0 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the ICIJ in turn set up a network of unprecedented size - to handle the HSBC data !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "the first was a secure forum - the second a database !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "that was searchable by name - country - and source !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "and the third an app to visualise the links - between assignees - and offshore holdings and companies !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "all communications are - encrypted !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "then everyone set to work - each in their own way !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "at the Guardian, the journalists papered the walls of the room with hundreds of Post-Its - arranged by category !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "and Le Monde also set up - a special unit !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "HSBC private bank, and the Swiss fiscal authorities had - since the very beginning !"

 

 

 

 

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• "disputed both the figures established by the tax office and prosecutors in France - and the use of this data !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "for its part, HSBC seemed prepared to follow suit - with the French judicial authorities !"

 

 

 

 

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• "to avoid a trial - that can be ruinous for the bank !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "and not just in terms - of its reputation !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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HSBC Boss Stuart Gulliver apologies - the Guardian: LINK ¤ the GUARDIAN

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• "the HSBC bank’s chief executive, Stuart Gulliver - says the media revelations !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "are "a painful experience" - for the HSBC !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "Gulliver wants to assure customers that its Swiss private bank - have been "completely overhauled"  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• Gulliver:  "we must show we understand that the societies we serve - expect more from us !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "we therefore offer - our sincerest apologies !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "we have absolutely no appetite to do business with clients - who are evading their taxes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "or who fail to meet - our financial crime compliance standards !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the fallout from the claims caused the bank’s former boss Stephen Green - to step down !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "at financial services lobby group - "TheCityUK"  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SWISS LEAKS - Wikipedia EN: LINK ¤ SWISS LEAKS