HMRC is examining leaked list of 4,388 British residents who bank with HSBC in Channel Islands tax haven
UK tax authorities are in the early stages of examining a recently received leaked list of 4,388 British residents who bank with HSBC in the tax haven of Jersey.
HM Revenue and Customs confirmed it was probing the list, following a report that serious criminals were banking in the Channel Islands, for potential tax evasion.
"We can confirm we have received the data and we are studying it," HMRC said in a statement. "Clamping down on those who try to cheat the system through evading taxes and over-claiming benefits is a top priority for us, and we value the information we receive from the public and business community."
The information is the latest in a string of illegal leaks of private offshore financial details from some of Europe's most controversial tax haven jurisdictions. HMRC is reported not to have paid for the information on HSBC accounts, though that could not be confirmed.
The bank insisted on Friday morning it had not been notified of any HMRC investigation. "Should we receive notification, we will co-operate fully with the authorities," HSBC said. "We are investigating the reports of an alleged loss of certain client data in Jersey as a matter of urgency."
John Harris, chief executive of the Jersey Financial Services Commission, told the Guardian: "We are unable to discuss individual [cases] but any concerns about the use of the banking system in Jersey involving money of criminal origin and failures to follow Jersey's [regulatory] reporting obligations will be robustly investigated."
A report in the Daily Telegraph suggested those on the list hold a total of £699m with the bank and may also have billions of pounds in investment schemes. The list is said to include one drug dealer, an individual convicted of possessing more than 300 weapons at his house in Devon and three bankers already accused of fraud.
The leaked information follows HMRC's receipt two years ago of the so-called "Lagarde list" said to contain the names of 6,000 people with HSBC accounts in Switzerland, 500 of whom have been investigated on suspicion of fraud.
That list, passed on to the UK authorities by the then French finance minister Christine Lagarde, has resulted in only one conviction as HMRC has argued it is better value in many cases for the taxpayer to reach financial settlements with tax evaders.
The latest leak comes as HSBC braces itself for heavy fines of about $1.5bn in the US relating to repeated breaches of money-laundering rules.
In 2007 the German authorities paid to get hold of stolen trust company details from Liechtenstein relating to tens of thousands of secret structures. US and UK counterparts also paid for the information later. The offshore world reacted with outrage at these payments, describing them as illegal.
Jersey politicians and regulators have repeatedly insisted the island – in contrast to other offshore jurisdictions – is not a haven for drugs money, tax evasion or other crime.
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