Swiss Bank Ex-Employee Steals Bank Data Containing Customer Information
HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) SA disclosed that a former employee stole bank data pertaining to the identity of bank customers. The data theft occurred at the end of the 2006. A criminal complaint has been filed and the ex-employee is reported to be living in Southeastern France in order to avoid to prosecution in Switzerland.
At this point, it is unknown whether the ex-employee has shared (or sold) the information with the Internal Revenue Service or the taxing authorities of other governments.
This event highlights the means by which foreign bank secrecy procedures may be violated. Many U.S. taxpayers filed voluntary disclosure requests under the Internal Revenue Service’s “Offshore Voluntary Compliance Program” which expired on October 15, 2009. While taxpayers are no longer eligible to participate under that program, the IRS continues to accept voluntary disclosure requests under its traditional disclosure guidelines. You may find them here.
For more information, please contact Jimmy Martens (jmartens@textaxlaw.com) or Kelli Todd at (ktodd@textaxlaw.com) at (512) 542-9898.