The US Department of Justice on Thursday asked a federal court to force HSBC India to reveal the names of US customers suspected of hiding their accounts to evade taxes.

The bank helped US taxpayers keep the accounts secret, the department alleged. It asked a San Francisco court to allow the Internal Revenue Service to serve a so-called "John Doe" summons against the bank that seeks the US client names. The US government believes "many" of those clients haven't declared their accounts to US tax authorities, the Justice Department said.