Falcon29
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Leaked files implicate over 6,000 Israelis in massive bank scandal | The Times of Israel
Leaked files implicate over 6,000 Israelis in massive bank scandal
Some $10 billion held in Israeli-linked accounts at Swiss branch of HSBC bank, including Edmond Safra and Yoshiyahu Pinto
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Banking Giant HSBC faced damaging claims Monday that its Swiss division helped wealthy customers dodge millions of dollars in taxes after a “SwissLeaks” cache of secret files emerged online. Among their clients are over 6,200 Israelis, with holdings totaling some $10 billion.
The documents published over the weekend claim the bank helped clients in more than 200 countries evade taxes on accounts containing $119 billion.
The huge cache of files, which were stolen by an IT worker in 2007 and passed to French authorities, has sparked criminal probes in several countries and attempts to claw back the cash.
Israel was ranked sixth on the list of countries with the most money in the hidden Swiss accounts, with an estimated $10 billion overall.
The funds were distributed among over six thousands clients and 9,769 accounts.
One Israeli client alone had $1.5 billion in his account. The documents noted that while over six thousand people were associated with Israel, only half of them are Israeli citizens.
Brazil-born banker Edmond J. Safra was listed as holding a Swiss account with up to $5.3 million, and Israeli-Canadian oil trader Jonathan Kollek was linked to accounts holding as much as $72 million.
Rabbi Pinto leads penitential selichot prayers at the graveside of the Peleh Yoe’etz in Silestria, Bulgaria (Photo credit: Courtesy)
Diamond dealer Beny Steinmetz, celebrity rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto -- who is embroiled in an ongoing graft case – and businessman Zadik Bino were also named as account holders.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) obtained the files via French newspaper Le Monde, and shared them with the BBC and The Guardian newspaper in Britain, US TV program “60 Minutes” and more than 45 other media organizations worldwide.
The documents showed that HSBC provided accounts to international criminals, businessmen, politicians and celebrities, according to the ICIJ.
The revelations are likely to stoke calls for a crackdown on sophisticated tax avoidance by the wealthy and by multinational companies, a key political issue across Europe.
Tax avoidance is legal, but tax evasion is not.
“HSBC profited from doing business with arms dealers who channeled mortar bombs to child soldiers in Africa, bag men for Third World dictators, traffickers in blood diamonds and other international outlaws,” ICIJ reported.
A range of former and current politicians from Russia, India and a range of African countries, as well as Saudi, Bahraini, Jordanian and Moroccan royalty, and the late Australian press magnate Kerry Packer were named in the files.
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There's democracy for ya!
Golly Jee I wonder how Israelis are so successful.
Leaked files implicate over 6,000 Israelis in massive bank scandal
Some $10 billion held in Israeli-linked accounts at Swiss branch of HSBC bank, including Edmond Safra and Yoshiyahu Pinto
.....
Banking Giant HSBC faced damaging claims Monday that its Swiss division helped wealthy customers dodge millions of dollars in taxes after a “SwissLeaks” cache of secret files emerged online. Among their clients are over 6,200 Israelis, with holdings totaling some $10 billion.
The documents published over the weekend claim the bank helped clients in more than 200 countries evade taxes on accounts containing $119 billion.
The huge cache of files, which were stolen by an IT worker in 2007 and passed to French authorities, has sparked criminal probes in several countries and attempts to claw back the cash.
Israel was ranked sixth on the list of countries with the most money in the hidden Swiss accounts, with an estimated $10 billion overall.
The funds were distributed among over six thousands clients and 9,769 accounts.
One Israeli client alone had $1.5 billion in his account. The documents noted that while over six thousand people were associated with Israel, only half of them are Israeli citizens.
Brazil-born banker Edmond J. Safra was listed as holding a Swiss account with up to $5.3 million, and Israeli-Canadian oil trader Jonathan Kollek was linked to accounts holding as much as $72 million.
Rabbi Pinto leads penitential selichot prayers at the graveside of the Peleh Yoe’etz in Silestria, Bulgaria (Photo credit: Courtesy)
Diamond dealer Beny Steinmetz, celebrity rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto -- who is embroiled in an ongoing graft case – and businessman Zadik Bino were also named as account holders.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) obtained the files via French newspaper Le Monde, and shared them with the BBC and The Guardian newspaper in Britain, US TV program “60 Minutes” and more than 45 other media organizations worldwide.
The documents showed that HSBC provided accounts to international criminals, businessmen, politicians and celebrities, according to the ICIJ.
The revelations are likely to stoke calls for a crackdown on sophisticated tax avoidance by the wealthy and by multinational companies, a key political issue across Europe.
Tax avoidance is legal, but tax evasion is not.
“HSBC profited from doing business with arms dealers who channeled mortar bombs to child soldiers in Africa, bag men for Third World dictators, traffickers in blood diamonds and other international outlaws,” ICIJ reported.
A range of former and current politicians from Russia, India and a range of African countries, as well as Saudi, Bahraini, Jordanian and Moroccan royalty, and the late Australian press magnate Kerry Packer were named in the files.
..........
..............
There's democracy for ya!
Golly Jee I wonder how Israelis are so successful.
