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French magistrates open criminal investigation of HSBC

Conduct of Swiss private bank to be probed over alleged tax-related offences

French magistrates open criminal investigation of HSBC

French magistrates have put HSBC under formal investigation as part of a widening probe into whether the UK bank helped rich French people evade taxes, prosecutors said Thursday.

Magistrates are looking into whether the bank helped recruit customers in France, possibly breaching laws authorising only French-registered lenders to sign up customers in the country, and was complicit in laundering the proceeds of tax fraud, said an official at the French national financial prosecutor.

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