A former government minister and the ex-head of Revenue & Customs face being called before MPs to explain how Britons were able to hide £135 million in the Swiss branch of HSBC without facing criminal sanctions.
Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, who served as trade minister from 2011 to 2013, headed HSBC during a period when 8,844 British customers deposited more than £14 billion in its Swiss banking unit. Leaked bank records revealed yesterday that HSBC allowed customers to withdraw “bricks” of untraceable cash and open undeclared “black” accounts.
The records of more than 100,000 customers, including Hollywood stars, royalty and businessmen, were handed to the media after they were stolen in 2007. Revenue & Customs obtained the files in 2010. Despite identifying 1,100 Britons who