Belgium Charges HSBC Holdings With Fraud And Money Laundering

(IDEX Online News) – Belgian prosecutors have charged a unit of British bank HSBC Holdings with fraud and money laundering worth hundreds of millions of euros, mainly for diamond dealers in the industry's international hub of Antwerp.

Swiss subsidiary HSBC Private Bank (Suisse), which is wholly owned by the banking giant, allegedly helped hundreds of clients cheat the Belgian state, the prosecutors said, the South China Morning Post reported.

The Belgian prosecutors said the HSBC subsidiary was being charged with serious and organized fraud, money laundering, criminal conspiracy and illegally functioning as a financial intermediary.

The allegations "date back several years and involve soliciting and managing the assets of wealthy clients, mainly from the Antwerp diamond industry".

"The Swiss bank is also suspected of knowingly favoring and encouraging fiscal fraud, giving privileged clients to offshore accounts, particularly in Panama and the Virgin Islands," the prosecutors said.