HSBC discloses tax evasion investigation in India & abroad

Global banking giant HSBC has disclosed being probed by tax authorities in India and several other countries, including against its Swiss and Dubai units, for allegedly abetting tax evasion of four Indians and their families.

Besides, the bank has been approached by the regulatory and law enforcement agencies of various countries for information on persons and entities named in the leaked Panama Papers — which included hundreds of Indians who had indulged in alleged tax violations through offshore tax havens with the help of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.

Disclosing the “tax-related investigations” in its latest annual report published last week, HSBC