HSBC Data Theft Affects 24,000 Swiss Accounts

Reuters is reporting that HSBC's private banking arm has announced that a previously reported theft of client data from its Swiss branch involved far more accounts than it had previously acknowledged. The story is here

Stolen data has played a significant role in government crackdowns on tax evaders. Many governments, will pay for stolen data about such taxpayers., e.g., the LGT bank account crackdown by numerous governments including the German and U.S. governments, were propagated primarily based upon stolen data purchased by German tax authorities.

This story could get very dramatic very quickly. Any HSBC customers with Swiss accounts are well advised to consult their tax advisers if they are concerned that they have not correctly reported the income and assets of such accounts.