Spain’s National Court has rejected a Swiss order to extradite an ex-HSBC employee for allegedly stealing and revealing confidential information about private Swiss accounts.
Herve Falciani faces charges in Switzerland for stealing information between 2006 and 2007 related to an estimated 24,000 customers’ private accounts at HSBC’s Swiss private banking unit.
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The information Falciani allegedly stole was obtained when he worked in the bank’s information technology development unit, and is said to have highlighted widespread tax evasion and money laundering.
Swiss authorities want Falciani, a French-Italian citizen, sent back to Switzerland to face charges of allegedly revealing secrets and breach of banking secrecy — which could lead to a seven-year jail term.
However, Falciani told a Spanish court hearing the extradition request that he had informed Swiss authorities in 2008 about what he had discovered at HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) but they refused to let him make an anonymous complaint.
The information obtained by Falcini has been used by EU and US authorities to help prosecute people accused of tax evasion.
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By GlobalDataFalciani was released on condition he handed over his passport, did not leave Spain and reported to a police station every three days. He was also ordered to establish a residence in Spain and to inform authorities if he moved house.
