HSBC has set aside $773m to deal with the financial impact from investigations led by tax and law enforcement agencies in India, the US, France and Belgium, the bank said in a statement. The RBI had concluded that HSBC may have possibly encouraged Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) breaches by allowing certain customers to bank with offshore private banking locations despite not qualifying for the same. The move follows an investigation into its Swiss private banking arm that revealed it had helped clients dodge taxes on more than $1bn (£780m) of income over several years. Previously, the Royal Bank of India's (RBI's) scrutiny of HSBC India's processes revealed the bank approved a decoy customer to open a dubious account among other inconsistencies, although a fine has not been agreed.
HSBC has set aside $773m to deal with the financial impact from investigations led by tax and law enforcement agencies in India, the US, France and Belgium, the bank said in a statement. The move follows an investigation into its Swiss private banking arm that revealed it had helped clients dodge taxes on more than $1bn (£780m) of income over several years. Previously, the Royal Bank of India's (RBI's) scrutiny of HSBC India's processes revealed the bank approved a decoy customer to open a dubious account among other inconsistencies, although a fine has not been agreed.