Global authorities call for investigation into HSBC tax scandal

Authorities in a range of countries are considering examining HSBC's actions in helping more than 100,000 wealthy individuals avoid paying tax, the BBC reported.

In the UK, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) plans to investigate the scandal and will require HSBC's former head to give evidence.

There have also been calls for action in the US, Belgium, France, Argentina and Switzerland itself.

HSBC said it is "co-operating with relevant authorities.”

The BBC learnt that HSBC helped wealthy clients evade hundreds of millions of pounds worth of tax.

Panorama has seen accounts from 106,000 clients in 203 countries, leaked by whistleblower Herve Falciani in 2007.

In the US a member of the Senate banking committee has asked the government to reveal what it knew about the documents.

In Belgium, a judge is considering issuing international arrest warrants for directors of the Swiss division of the bank, while France has launched an investigation and its prime minister has promised more action both at home and at a European level.

Swiss politicians are asking for regulatory investigation.

The PAC's chairman, Margaret Hodge, said late on Monday: "The Public Accounts Committee will be launching an urgent inquiry to which we will require HSBC to give evidence - and we will order them if necessary."

The PAC has a routine meeting scheduled on Wednesday at which the head of HMRC, Lin Homer, will appear.

HSBC admitted that it was "accountable for past control failures." But it said it has now "fundamentally changed."

"We acknowledge that the compliance culture and standards of due diligence in HSBC's Swiss private bank, as well as the industry in general, were significantly lower than they are today," it added.

The bank now faces criminal investigations in the US, France, Belgium and Argentina, but not in the UK, where HSBC is based.