The French financial prosecutor’s office has demanded criminal trial for HSBC’s Swiss private bank concerning the tax dodging case.
The request follows an investigation conducted by local magistrates into the alleged tax fraud involving 3,000 French taxpayers.
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The private bank has one month to respond following which French magistrates will take the final decision on whether to hold a trial.
According to the French newspaper Le Monde, HSBC has turned down a 1.5bn ($1.6bn) settlement offer risking a fine amounting to half the value of the funds subject to the suspected fraud.
The parent company HSBC said: "This is a normal step in the judicial procedure and the outcome of the matter is not determined as of today."
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chair Margaret Hodge has called for the resignation of Rona Fairhead from her current position of head of the BBC Trust.
