HSBC accused of aiding tax evasion in Argentina

The British banking giant HSBC has been accused of facilitating money laundering and tax evasion in Argentina.

The South American country’s tax chief, Ricardo Echegaray, said HSBC’s Argentina subsidiary created an illegal scheme that helped its clients evade more than $100m (£66m) in taxes.

Mr Echegaray the scheme included a criminal organisation and fake receipts used to launder money for various companies. Since February, the bank “had been rolling out a fraud-enabling platform” that Mr Echegaray called “a manoeuvre to hide bank account information from tax collectors”.

HSBC’s Latin America spokeswoman, Lyssette Bravo, issued a statement promising to co-operate with authorities: “HSBC takes compliance with the law... very seriously and strongly supports the efforts of governments and regulators to detect unlawful activity.”