if your name is on this list prepare to be audited

8/9/2019 If Your Name is on This List Prepare to Be Audited

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If Your Name Is On This List Prepare To Be Audited (Or Worse)

By Tyler Durden

Created 02/09/2015 - 17:53

Over the weekend we got the latest confirmation that when it comes to enabling of taxevasion and parking of criminal money, HSBC is second only to US real estate incatering to shady offshore oligarchs, dictators, rock stars, monarchs, and even outrightcriminals.

What happened was the following: The French newspaper Le Monde obtained a versionof the tax authority data, which covers accounts of more than 100,000 clients(individuals and legal entities) from more than 200 countries. The newspapershared it with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists [43]with the

agreement that it would assemble a global team of journalists to explore the data andproduce this reporting project.

The data comes from three types of internal bank files from different time periods. Onereflects clients and their associated private accounts at the Swiss branch of the bankmostly from 1988 to 2007. Another is a snapshot of the maximum amounts in the clientaccounts during 2006 and 2007. The third is of notes on clients and conversations withthem made by bank employees during 2005.

The files show the accounts to hold more than $100 billion in total, from $12.6 billionheld in the name of governmental institutions from the oil rich nation of Venezuela under

the late former leader Hugh Chávez, to amounts recorded as zero. The confidential filesalso provide a wealth of other detail, such as secretive offshore companies linked tosome accounts.

As Bloomberg reminds us today [44], the HSBC leak began as a rogue operation by acomputer technician, Herve Falciani, who left the company in 2008 with five disks ofconfidential information. A self-described whistle-blower, Falciani provided details on the100,000-plus accounts to French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, now head of theInternational Monetary Fund. She passed details from the cache -- which came to beknown as the Falciani List or Lagarde List -- to governments around the world.

The "Swiss Leak" was the topic of last night's 60 Minutes (which was missed by prettymuch everyone who was focusing on the brain mush that is the Grammys instead).

Here are some excerpts from the CBS interview [45]:

A 37-year-old computer security specialist named Hervé Falciani stole the huge cacheof data in 2007 and gave it to the French government. It's now being used to go after taxcheats all over the world. 60 Minutes, working with a group called the International

http://www.icij.org/http://www.icij.org/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-08/leaked-hsbc-list-shows-who-was-banking-on-swiss-secrecyhttp://www.cbsnews.com/news/hsbc-swiss-leaks-investigation-60-minutes/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hsbc-swiss-leaks-investigation-60-minutes/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-08/leaked-hsbc-list-shows-who-was-banking-on-swiss-secrecyhttp://www.icij.org/


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Consortium of Investigative Journalists, obtained the leaked files. They show the bankdid business with a collection of international outlaws: tax dodgers, arms dealers anddrug smugglers -- offering a rare glimpse into the highly secretive world of Swissbanking.

This is the stolen data that is shaking the Swiss banking world to its core. It containsnames, nationalities, account information, deposit amounts - but most remarkable arethese detailed notes revealing the private dealings between HSBC and its clients.

Jack Blum : Well, the amount of information here that has come public is extraordinary. Absolutely extraordinary.

Few people know more about money laundering and tax evasion by banks than JackBlum.

He's a former U.S. Senate staff investigator. We asked him to analyze the files for us.

Jack Blum: If you read these notes, what you understand is the bank is trying toaccommodate the secrecy needs of the client. And that's the first concern.

Jack Blum: You get into the notes and you find that they offer various products: shellcorporations, trusts, various ways of concealing the ownership of the account. Theyoffer products that they're gonna give to the customer that will help with a concealment.

Concealment is what Irish businessman John Cashell got from HSBC. His file containedthese notes by a bank employee: Cashell's "pre-occupation is with the risk of disclosureto the Irish authorities." The employee went on, "I endeavored to reassure him that

there is no risk of that happening." Cashell was later convicted of tax evasion.

The bank files we examined contained more than 4,000 names of people withconnections to the U.S., holding more than $13 billion in HSBC accounts.

One was a New Jersey realtor. The notes in her file reveal that she and her familywanted assurance that her assets would be well hidden from U.S. tax collectors.

Jack Blum: And she expresses concerns to the bank, which in turn reassure her thatthey will find ways to keep her name out of the sights of IRS.

Bi l l Wh itaker :

There seems to be evidence of the bank actively helping clients evade--if not cheat.

Jack Blum: Of course.

Bi l l Wh itaker : You say, "Of course." But for us, looking at these documents here, this isshocking.


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Jack Blum: First of all, for the average American taxpayer it's beyond shocking. But, perhaps, not that surprising. Swiss banks have been caught protecting tax dodgersbefore, but never has this much detail been revealed.

Jack Blum: Under U.S. law, any bank that does that, that assists a U.S. person in

evading U.S. tax is guilty of a felony. And it doesn't matter where the bank is located orwhere the bankers are located.

Bi l l Wh itaker : So, we're looking at evidence of a felony here?

Jack Blum: Potentially, yes.

The full interview is below:

* * *

And while we will refrain from commenting on the implications of this report and theimminent renewal of howls of rage at taxing the uber-rich even more, the only questionon pretty much everyone's mind (and certainly for those within the 0.1% who hadenough "savings" to deposit them with HSBC) is simple:

"Am I on that list?"

The answer -if only for the 0.1% - is probably yes: after all if 100,000 individuals werelisted, it probably means the vast bulk of the pinnacle of global wealth is not onlyinvolved but, now, has been named.

And while the full list has yet to be revealed to the broader public, this is what the ICIJhas provided. How and why did the consortium select these individuals? "The peoplefeatured in this application have been selected by ICIJ as a sample, based on theirpublic interest."

Here they are courtesy of the ICIJ [46] , whose release of the remaining 99,900 or sonames is eagerly anticipated:

Abdul-Karim Dan Azoumi, Diamond exporter

Abdoul-Karim Dan-Azoumi is the owner of Badica, the largest diamond exporter in the

Central African Republic (CAR). An October 2014 United Nations report by a panel ofexperts branded Dan- Azoumi’s company a key financial backer of the rebel Selekagroup which has been fighting government forces in the CAR conflict that has resultedin the deaths of thousands of civilians. The United Nations alleged that fees paid byDan- Azoumi’s companies to Séléka rebels in order to illegally export diamonds allowedthe rebels to remain armed. Dan- Azoumi lives in Antwerp, Belgium’s diamond capital.

File details

http://www.icij.org/project/swiss-leaks/explore-swiss-leaks-datahttp://www.icij.org/project/swiss-leaks/explore-swiss-leaks-data


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Dan-Azoumi became an HSBC client in 2000. He was linked to five bank accounts. Twoof them were associated with a client account under the name of “Kampala HoldingsS.A.,” which lists Dan-Azoumi as beneficial owner. The maximum amount in the accountin 2006/2007 was $467,592. The other three bank accounts belonged to a numberedclient account, which was closed in 2006. He was linked to “32618 BG” alongside

another individual. HSBC bank communications explain that the bank closed theaccount for the benefit of an offshore account that was going to have Dan-Azoumi asbeneficial owner.

* * *

Aziza Kulsum Gulamali, Cigarette factory owner, alleged arms dealer

Aziza Kulsum Gulamali, born in Burundi in 1944, is also known as the “Coltan Queen”for her alleged role in trafficking that precious metal, central to much mobile phonetechnology. The United Nations has criticized Gulamali for financing and providing

weapons to rebels during Burundi’s civil war in the early 1990s. In 2002, Swissauthorities charged Gulamali and members of her immediate family with moneylaundering. The case was later dropped and Gulamali won nominal court costs.

File details

Listed as living in Belgium, Kulsum was linked to three HSBC numbered client accountsopened between 1990 and 1997. One account -15208BAMA- linked to two bankaccounts that together held as much as $3.26 million in 2006/2007, was later blockedfor unspecified compliance reasons.She showed up as a joint account holder of thatnumbered client account. The other two accounts were closed in 1995 and 2000. The

leaked files do not specify the exact role Kulsum had in relation to these accounts.* * *

Alejandro Andrade, National treasurer

Alejandro Andrade started as a bodyguard to the late Venezuelan president HugoChávez and ended up serving as national treasurer between 2007 and 2010. Andradewas among the military officials that were part of the unsuccessful coup of 1992together with Chávez. He was close to him during his first presidential campaign andheld several financial posts in the Chávez administration. In addition to serving as

treasurer, Andrade was also president of the Economic and Social Development Bankof Venezuela (Bandes) between 2008 and 2010. The U.S. Securities and ExchangeCommission filed a civil action and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of NewYork charged four individuals in what prosecutors said was a scheme that generated$66 million in revenue for a Miami brokerage in return for kickbacks and bribes to thevice president of finance at the bank. This occurred during Andrade’s administration but

Andrade was not named in the suit. He currently lives in Palm Beach County, Florida, inthe wealthy neighborhood of Wellington, and has invested in show horses.


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File details

Alejandro Andrade was listed by the HSBC records as an attorney for the client accountof the Venezuelan Treasury Office under the Ministry of Finance in 2007, when heassumed the position of national treasurer. The Treasury Office became an HSBC client

in 2005 and held an account under the name of the governmental institution. TheTreasury client account listed three bank accounts that together held as much as $698million in 2006/2007. At least six of the other seven clients linked to this account werealso Venezuelan officials who worked for the Treasury Office.

* * *

Alfred Taubman, Billionaire

Alfred Taubman, is the billionaire developer who “helped make the mall into America'smodern town square,” according to Forbes. Also a noted philanthropist, Taubman has

made large donations to the University of Michigan and to other schools. The formerSotheby’s chairman was fined $7.5 million in 2002 and served 10 months in prison aftera jury in New York convicted him of fixing auction prices.

File details

Alfred Taubman was linked to 6 HSBC accounts of which he was listed as beneficialowner of four of them: “M.L.P. MOSCOW LOGISTICS PARK LTD CYPRUS”, “ATHENABALCHUG LLC”, “BALCHUG (CYPRUS) LIMITED” and “ATHENA BALCHUG(CYPRUS) LIMITED” They were closed by 2007. One of the client accounts opened in1998, “M.L.P. MOSCOW LOGISTICS PARK LTD” listed one bank account and held as

much as $13,706 in 2006/2007.* * *

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest industrialist

In November 2014, Forbes magazine ranked him as the richest man in Africa and the23rd in the world with an estimated fortune of $21.6 billion. Aliko Dangote is the founderand the current CEO of the Dangote Group, a conglomerate operating in 16 Africancountries. The Nigerian mogul made his fortune in the production of four majorcommodities: sugar, salt, flour and cement. However, his businesses have expanded to

other sectors, including oil and real estate. He is also the president of the NigerianStock Exchange. Reuters reported a Nigerian government announcement in thesummer of 2014 that Dangote Group had donated $150 million to stop the spread ofEbola. In October 2014, Nigeria was declared Ebola free.

File details


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He became an HSBC client in 2003 and was a beneficial owner of a client account withthe Swiss bank from July 2003 to August 2004. The account appeared in the name ofDevelopment Projects Corporation. The leaked files placed its registration address inthe British Virgin Islands.

* * *Álvaro Noboa, Politician and head of agribusiness empire

Considered the richest man in Ecuador, he is also a politician. He failed to become thepresident of Ecuador when he ran five times in elections between 1998 and 2013.Under the conglomerates of Grupo Noboa and Corporación Noboa, this Ecuadorean inhis mid-sixties manages 110 companies all around the world. Bonita bananas is one ofNoboa’s most popular brands. In addition to his banana exporting business, his holdingsinclude media, real estate, banking and other companies. Noboa and his companieshave fought many legal battles, including over allegations of tax evasion, child labor,

and sexual harassment. He has also so far evaded an attempt by a former businesspartner to collect an $8.7 million judgment against him. In 2009, Ecuadorean presidentRafael Correa told El País that Noboa was a “mogul who does not pay taxes.” InNovember 2013, Noboa took out an ad in The New York Times to decry the “relentlesspolitical persecution” of Ecuador’s tax officials.

File details

The Guayaquil-based tycoon was a beneficial owner of an HSBC client account startedin 2006, under the name Fruit Shippers Limited, which listed postal addresses inBermuda and the United States. Fruit Shippers Limited is the name of a company in

which Noboa is the controlling shareholder. The maximum amount in the account in2006/2007 was $92.1 million.

* * *

Arlette Barbary de Langlade Ricci, Heiress to Nina Ricci fashion and perfume fortune

Arlette Ricci, 73, is the heiress to the fortune of Nina Ricci, the perfume giant and one ofFrance’s oldest fashion houses. French authorities charged Arlette Ricci in 2011 withtax evasion as a result of the French Government’s study of the documents leaked byformer HSBC employee Hervé Falciani. According to media reports, police arrested

Ricci at her central Paris home in 2011 and held her in custody for 48 hours. Ricci hasdenied allegations of wrongdoing. An appeals court rejected an attempt by Ricci’slawyers to have charges against Ricci dropped.

File details

Ricci was connected to three HSBC client accounts. She appeared as beneficial ownerof the account Parita Compania Financiera S.A., which held as much as $22.5 million at


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one point in 2006/2007. Parita Compañia Financiera S.A. is the name of a companybased in Panama. Ricci was also once listed as “Attorney A” for the account MYR

ASSOCIATES INC., which held $1.9m in 2006/2007. A third account with no money,Positano, did not explicitly state Ricci’s role.

* * *Belhassen Trabelsi, Former owner of biggest business holding in Tunisia, now in exile

Belhassen Trabelsi became a wealthy businessman in Tunisia during the presidency ofhis brother-in-law Zine el Abidine Ben Ali (1989-2011). His sister Leila, a formerhairdresser, married Ben Ali in 1992 and began placing her 10 siblings in key positionsin government and the economy. Belhassen Trabelsi became the chieftain of theTrabelsi clan. He fled his country in 2011 in the midst of a popular revolt that oustedBen Ali. He and his family members now live in Canada, where they arrived in 2001 ona private jet and where they are seeking refugee status. Trabelsi was convicted for

corruption in absentia in 2011 and sentenced to 15 years in prison.File details

Trabelsi became an HSBC client in 2006. He was listed as beneficial owner of threebank accounts under the name of “Zenade Resources Limited,” that held as much as$2,837,034 in 2006/2007. HSBC records also tied him to the numbered account“48451MH” which listed four bank accounts and held as much as $22,083,647 in2006/2007. The leaked files do not specify the exact role that Trabelsi had in relation tothis numbered account created in 2006.

* * *Carlos Hank Rhon, Mexican Billionaire

Carlos Hank Rhon is a Mexican billionaire and co-owner of Grupo FinancieroInteracciones and Grupo Hermes. For the last 50 years, the Hanks have beenconsidered one of the most influential families in Mexico. Forbes puts his fortune atmore than $2 billion and has ranked his family among the 800 wealthiest families in theworld. However, the origin of the Hank family fortune (which was begun by Carlos’father, the well know politician Carlos Hank Gonzalez; Carlos’ son and Carlos’ brotherJorge) has been the subject of investigations, controversy and official scrutiny. In 1999,

a preliminary report on the U.S. National Drug Intelligence Center’s “Operation WhiteTiger” leaked to the press and linked the Hank family to drug trafficking and moneylaundering for the Tijuana drug cartel. Janet Reno, then attorney general, disavowed thereport. Carlos Hank Rhon, who controlled the Laredo National Bank, which was alsonamed in the report, in June 2001 agreed to pay a $40 million fine to the U.S. FederalReserve for hiding the names of the real owners of the bank. Even before that, CarlosHank Rhon was investigated for money laundering by Mexican, Swiss and French

judges. They were trying to establish the origin of bank transfers — allegedly connected


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with drug cartels — made to Enrique and Raúl Salinas de Gortari, brothers of formerMexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Carlos Hank Rhon admitted that he madethe transfer to Raúl Salinas when he was questioned by Mexican authorities. However,he did not give more details. Enrique Salinas and his wife were acquitted of the moneylaundering accusations by a French judge in 2006. There are no pending charges

against the Hank family.File details

Carlos Hank Rohn became an HSBC client in 2005. He was the beneficial owner of aclient account under the name “Hmex Pte. Ltd.” He later stopped being in that position,as Hank Rohn’s files listed his profile for this account as “stricken .” “Hmex Pte. Ltd.”had 10 bank accounts that together held as much as $158 million in 2006/2007. HankRohn was also linked to a numbered client account with one bank account which heldas much as $20.1 million in 2006/2007. The leaked files do not specify the exact role hehad in relation to this account.

* * *

Christian Michael Slater, Actor

Slater is an American actor who rose to fame in the 1980s and early 1990s with a seriesof rebel and bad boy roles. He started his career early by starring in a Broadway play atthe age of 11. He starred in his first movie in 1985 and gained recognition in 1986 inThe Name of the Rose with Sean Connery. In 1989, he starred in the cult movieHeathers alongside Winona Ryder. In 1991, he played opposite Kevin Costner in RobinHood: Prince of Thieves. Three years later, he played the role of a nosy journalist in

Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Heplayed opposite John Travolta in Broken Arrow, a 1996 action movie. For several yearsafter that, he had minor roles in various TV shows and movies but no big screen rolesperhaps due to run-ins with the law. Among other incidents, he has been convicted ofdrunk driving and assault.

File details

Christian Michael Slater was linked to an HSBC client account named "Captain Kirk,”after the Star Trek character. It was opened in 1996 and closed in 1997. The accountlisted two postal addresses: one in the United States, associated with ERNST &

YOUNG LLP, and one in the United Kingdom. The leaked files do not specify the exactrole Slater had in relation to the account

* * *

Diane Halfin von Fürstenberg, Fashion designer


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Von Fürstenberg is an iconic American fashion designer who is best known for her wrapdresses, which were the height of fashion in the 1970s and are still popular today. Shegot her last name from her first husband, a German prince, and, although she hasremarried, she has continued using his name. In 1974 she presented her first wrapdress and due to its success was featured on the cover of Newsweek two years later.

Also in 1974, she launched her line of cosmetics and her first fragrance. In 1985, shecreated a publishing house in Paris. Since 2004, she has initiated lines of variousproducts including jewelry, beachwear, a fragrance and children’s clothing. She isdirector of a family foundation and has donated money to a variety of causes.

File details

Diane Von Fürstenberg's was linked to four HSBC client accounts: two numbered thatwere opened in 1988 and later closed in 1996 and 2002. There was another accountunder the name “Thunderbird Investments Ltd,” in which she showed up as beneficialowner, opened in 1994 and closed in 2002 and one account for “Licom Ltd,” where at

one point she was listed as “Attorney B.” Two family members were also linked to theclient account. Her mother was listed as beneficial owner of the account and thenstricken. “Licom Ltd” listed seven bank accounts that together held as much as$6,268,217 in 2006/2007.

* * *

Diego Forlán, Football player

Diego Forlán is one of the world’s top scorers in the recent history of soccer. He scoredlarge numbers of goals for clubs in major national leagues, including Independiente

(Argentina), Manchester United (England), Atlético de Madrid (Spain) andInternazionale Milano (Italy). The latest stop of his career is the Japanese team CerezoOsaka. Forlán is a two-time winner of the European Golden Shoe and also wasawarded the Adidas Golden Ball as the best player at the 2010 World Cup. Playing forUruguay, Forlán won the 2011 Copa América, the 15th title for “La Celeste.”

File details

Diego Forlán became an HSBC client in 2006, while he was playing in Spain forVillarreal. He was connected to two client accounts that together listed four bankaccounts. Two of them were associated with the account Rosario Trading Company S.A

where he was listed as “Attorney C,” and two were associated to numbered account12661 ZDF. Together the accounts held as much as $1.4 million in 2006/2007. Theleaked files do not specify the exact role that Forlán had in relation to the numberedaccount.

* * *

Edmond J. Safra, Banker


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Descendant of a banking dynasty from Syria, Edmond Safra was a colossus of thefinance world who established banks across Brazil, Switzerland and the United States.In 1999 he sold his holdings in Republic New York Corporation and Safra RepublicHoldings – both specialized in private banking –to London-based HSBC for $10.3 billionin cash. As a result of that sale, the assets of Safra’s wealthy international clients were

transferred to the HSBC private banking branch in Switzerland. Months later, Safra diedin a fire at his luxury penthouse in Monaco. He was 67. His American nurse was laterconvicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison for setting the fire, hoping to stage arescue and appear a hero.

File details

Edmond J. Safra was linked to seven HSBC client accounts, four opened in 1988, twoin 1989 and one in 1999. Of these, four closed between 1999 and 2006. Together, theactive client accounts by 2006/2007 held as much as $5.3 million. His wife, Lily Safra,was a non-exclusive account holder of one client account, a numbered account set up

26 days after Edmond Safra’s death in 1999, which held as much as $4.6 million in2006/2007 before closure. It was served by six bank accounts. Besides the numberedaccount, Lily Safra was also connected to four more accounts of which she wasbeneficial owner of two. Two of these accounts were also associated with her husband.

* * *

Édouard Stern, Banker

Édouard Stern was a French banker whose violent death in 2004 at the hand of hisgirlfriend Cécile Brossard inspired several movies and novels. The court case was

widely covered in the French and Swiss press. Édouard Stern was head of the bankStern, a position he took over from his father in 1979. He successfully developed thebank's business towards market finance and mergers and acquisitions. He sold thebank to a group of Lebanese businessmen in 1984 and then created another bank,under the same name, which he sold to Switzerland's Societé des Banques Suissesfour years later. He became known for his aggressive buy-out strategies which wereuncommon in France at the time.

File details

Édouard Stern became an HSBC client in 1999. He was linked as “Attorney C” to a

client account under the name of “HF Investments Limited,” which listed eight bankaccounts that together held as much as of $16.8 million in 2006/2007. It was laterclosed. Together with Stern, 13 other clients were also connected to the account.

* * *

Elle MacPherson, Model, entertainer, entrepreneur


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Elle MacPherson started her modelling career in 1982 and quickly made the covers ofwell-known fashion magazines, including Elle. She rose to fame in 1986 when sheappeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit issue. In 1989, she madethe cover of Time magazine, which gave her the nickname “The Body.” She was one ofthe first “supermodels” alongside Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford. In 1990, she

launched her first lingerie line, “Elle MacPherson Intimates,” and has continueddesigning lingerie since then. In 1994, she launched her own modelling agency andstarted producing workout videos and calendars. The same year, she starred in themovie Sirens and went on to appear in several other productions. She appeared on thefamous U.S. television show Friends several times. In 2010, she re-launched her line ofbody care and bath products and became the host of Britain and Ireland's Next TopModel television show.

File details

Elle MacPherson was connected to seven HSBC client accounts. She was beneficial

owner of five of them. The other two, under the names of “Elle MacPherson Capital A/C”and “Elle MacPherson income A/C” do not specify the exact role that she had in relationto the accounts. The four client accounts still operative in 2008 were linked to 25 bankaccounts that together held as much as $12.2 million in 2006/2007. Three of theaccounts for which she was the beneficial owner were closed in 2000, 2001 and 2004.

* * *

Emilio Botín, Banker

Botín ran the family-controlled Banco Santander for almost three decades after

succeeding his father as executive chairman in 1986. Santander acquired the Britishbank Abbey National in 2004, making Santander the most valuable bank in Europe bymarket capitalization. In 2011 the Botín family paid €200 million in back taxes to theSpanish government, which resulted in the closing of a tax fraud investigation into theBotíns’ accounts with HSBC Private Bank (Suisse). Emilio Botín died in September2014.

File details

Emilio Botín became an HSBC client in 2003. He was linked to a client account createdin 2002 under the name “North Star Overseas Enterprises Inc.” that connected him to

five bank accounts. Together they held as much as $82 million in 2006/2007. North StarOverseas Enterprises was the name of a company based in Panama that was laterdissolved. The leaked files do not specify the exact role that Botín had in relation to theaccount. The bank notes show that in 2005 this account was used to sell 50 percent ofhis shares with Bankinter through the Spanish broker Mercavalor SVB. According toHSBC internal communications, the amount of the sale was around $46 million and wastransferred to other financial institutions. The reason for the transfer was a “heritancedistribution.”


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* * *

Fernando Alonso, Formula One racing driver

He is a two-time winner of the Formula One World Driver's Championship, in the

seasons 2005 and 2006. Alonso took up residence in Switzerland from 2006 to 2010.He moved back to Spain in order to be closer to friends and family. He remarked at thetime, “It's great to go home. I'm happy to pay the money. I'm not poor — just a little bitless rich now.”

File details

Alonso was client of HSBC starting 2002. He was linked to the numbered client account“MAFDAF 851 ” that previously was held in the name “Fernando Alonso Diaz”. It listedfour bank accounts that together held as much as $42.3 million in 2006/2007. Theleaked files do not specify the exact role that Alonso had in relation to the account.

* * *

Flavio Briatore, Motorsports figure

Briatore is known for his businesses linked to the Formula One World Championship,including Formula FB Business Ltd., a company based in the British Virgin Islands. Hehas headed Formula One teams for both Renault, which won both the driver's andconstructor's championships in 2005 and 2006, and for Benetton. Briatore was forced toresign from the ING Renault F1 team over accusations that a team member had stageda crash to provide an advantage for a teammate during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

After the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) conducted its owninvestigation, the federation banned Briatore from FIA-organized events for life inSeptember 2009. The ban was overturned by a French court in January 2010. From2007 to 2010, he was part-owner and chairman of London's Queens Park RangersFootball Club but resigned when questions were raised about his takeover. He createdthe Billionaires Club, which holds a four-day party at the Grand Prix in Monte Carlo and,in his personal life, is known for having dated famous supermodels.

File details

Briatore was linked to 9 HSBC client accounts. He was listed as beneficial owner of at

least six of them: Benton Investments Inc., Pinehurst Properties, and numbered account“27361” (which closed in 2005); Adderley Trading Ltd (closed in 2004); and Formula FBBusiness Ltd and GP2 Ltd which remained active by the time of the leak. Through thenine client accounts, Briatore was connected with 38 bank accounts, which togetherheld as much as $73 million between 2006/2007.

* * *


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Gad Elmaleh, Actor, humorist

Gad Elmaleh rose to stardom in France with his one-man shows (his first being in1997), followed by roles in comedies. He often portrays eccentric characters, someinspired by characters from his country of origin, Morocco, and others from Paris.

File details

Gad Elmaleh was an HSBC client since 2001. He was linked to at least one numberedaccount. It listed two bank accounts that held as much as $81,247 in 2006/2007. Theleaked files do not specify the exact role that Elmaleh had in relation to the account.

* * *

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians

Born Ktrij Nersessian, he was enthroned in 1999 as the 132nd Supreme Patriarch andCatholicos (meaning “universal leader”) of Echmiadzin, the holy seat of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church. He has traveled the world visiting the Armenian diasporaand promoting inter-faith dialogue. His travels have taken him to places includingVatican City, the United States, India and Turkey, milestones of his pontifical visits.

File details

HSBC internal files first listed Karekin II among its clients in 2000. He was connected toan account named “His Holiness Karekin II Nersis” that listed one bank account andheld as much as $1.1 million in 2006/2007. The leaked files do not specify the exact role

that Karekin II had in relation to the account.* * *

Helmut Newton, Photographer

Helmut Newton is one of the most famous names in fashion photography. His photoshave been featured on the cover of Vogue many times and he has photographedmodels including Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford and Grace Jones. He died in 2004following injuries from a car accident and is buried in Berlin.

File detailsHelmut Newton and a family member were linked to a numbered client account withHSBC, “3144FY,” from 1994 to 1999. The leaked files do not specify the exact role thatthe Newtons had in relation to the account. Another HSBC client account was openedon January 26, 2004, three days after his death, in the name of the “Newton HelmutStiftung” (Helmut Newton Foundation), based in Zürich. The maximum amount in thisaccount in 2006/2007 was $35,528.


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* * *

Ian Lloyd McKay, Court of Appeal Judge

Sir Ian Lloyd McKay, who died in February 2014 at the age of 84, was ca lled “the best

barrister in New Zealand” and sat as a judge on the Court of Appeal of New Zealandfrom 1991 to 1997. Following his retirement, McKay also served as the president of theElectoral Commission, on the Court of Appeal of Samoa and as the chairperson of agovernment inquiry. Outside the courtroom, McKay was a serious devotee of bagpipes.

File details

McKay was linked to two client accounts at HSBC. One of them, held no money in2006/2007, and the other one, listed five bank accounts that together held $31,118 in2006/2007. The leaked files do not specify the exact role that McKay had in relation tothe account.

* * *

Jaime Camil Garza, Mexican Billionaire developer

Jaime Federico Said Camil Garza is a Mexican billionaire who has been a developerand a lobbyist. He has strong connections in the worlds of consulting, politics andentertainment. He is also known for the lavish celebrations he organizes together withhis son Jaime, a popular soap opera actor. Camil claims to be a close friend of the Bushpresidential family and often shows his expensive properties, yachts and horses to jet-set magazines. But his name has also appeared in the media linked to corruption

scandals. The most recent scandal was in 2013 when he was named as the consultantwho allegedly paid bribes on behalf of the German company Siemens to Mexico’snational oil company, Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex). The U.S. Securities and ExchangeCommission referred only to “a politically-connected business consultant” in a 2008lawsuit, which Siemens settled by paying $1.6 billion and pleading guilty to a criminalcharge. However, Pemex identified Camil as an intermediary in the payments in aseparate 2013 lawsuit against Siemens, which was dismissed by U.S. courts. Camilrejected all allegations of wrongdoing in a conversation with ICIJ.

File details

Camil Garza was linked at least two HSBC accounts. One, under the name “Letona Anstalt”, was opened in 2000 and closed in 2001. The other, of which he had beneficialownership, was a numbered account named “18075TC”, opened in 1994 and closed in2002. The legal persons linked to Garza’s profile had addresses in Liechtenstein andthe British Virgin Islands.

* * *


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Johnson Nduya Muthama, Senator and mining executive

Senator Johnson Nduya Muthama was elected in 2013 to represent Machakos County.Previously, he had represented the Kangundo Constituency in the National Assembly ofKenya from 2008 to 2012. A graduate of the Gemological Institute of America, Muthama

is a wealthy gemstones magnate. He is the executive chairman of Muthama Gemstones(Kenya) Ltd., a society that operates internationally dealing with mines and preciousstones. He was also founder of the Kenya Gemstone Dealers Association.

File details

HSBC files recorded Muthama’s name in connection with the client account“ROCKLAND96”, which was set up in 1996 and closed in 2000. Muthama was alsolinked to the numbered client account “20443NM” over the same period. Bank fileslisted eight of his relatives – named Nduya Muthama – also linked to the numberedaccount. The leaked files do not specify the exact role that he had in relation to the

accounts.* * *

Joseph Paul Fok, Judge

Fok graduated in law from University College London in 1984 and was in privatepractice in Hong Kong from 1987 until he became a judge of the Court of First Instancein 2010. The following year he was designated justice of appeal of the Court of Appealof the High Court. In 2013, Fok was appointed as a permanent judge of the Court ofFinal Appeal, Hong Kong’s top tribunal.

File details

Fok and his wife were clients of HSBC between 2000 and 2002, when their commonclient account was closed. They were both beneficial owners of the numbered account“32008LJ”. – His wife was further beneficial owner of a second numbered client account

– 31993JG-, also closed in 2002.

* * *

Kerry Packer, Media magnate

Packer was, until his death in 2005, one of Australia’s biggest media tycoons and one ofits richest citizens. Outside Australia, he was best known for founding World SeriesCricket in 1977 after he failed to win broadcasting rights from the Australian CricketBoard.

File details


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Listed as a “press magnate and owner of a newspaper business,” Packer was client ofHSBC.He was beneficial owner of a client account under the name of “C.P. InternationalManagement Services Limited,” set up in 1994, closed in 2000 and linked to Packer’sConsolidated Press media empire

* * *King Abdullah II ben al-Hussein, Jordan’s monarch

King Abdullah II ben al Hussein, the fourth Hashemite Monarch of Jordan, assumed thethrone in 1999 upon the death of his father King Hussein. According to the monarch’sofficial website, he is a “41st-generation direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammad.”Jordan’s king is usually descr ibed as a Western ally in the Middle East and as includingpolitical liberalization and modernization of Jordan in his agenda. “The monarchy isgoing to change. When my son becomes of age and becomes king, the system will bestabilized and … it will be a Western democracy with a constitutional monarchy,” King

Abdullah II told The Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg in March 2013. File details

Jordan’s King Abdullah II became an HSBC client in 2006. Abdullah II was connected toa client account created in 2004 under the name of a senior palace official. Three bankaccounts were linked to it. The maximum amount in the account in 2006/2007 was$41.8 million. The leaked files do not specify the exact role that King Abdullah II had inrelation to the account.

* * *

King Mohammed VI, King of Morocco

Mohammed VI assumed the throne in 1999 after the death of his father, King Hassan II.He is Morocco’s leading businessman and banker, and the royal family dynasty is thelargest private stakeholder in the country’s economy. Forbes reported in 2014 thatMohammed VI is Africa’s wealthiest monarch and among Africa’s richest persons, witha fortune estimated at $2.1 billion.

File details

Mohammed VI became an HSBC client in 2006. According to the bank’s internal files,Morocco’s King was linked to numbered client account “45500MK” served by five bankaccounts that together held as much as $9.1 million in 2006/2007. Other familymembers were also HSBC clients. The leaked files do not specify the exact role thatMohammed VI had in relation to the account.

* * *


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Lavrentis Lavrentiadis, Entrepreneur

It was 1990 when Lavrentis Lavrentiadis took the wheel of Neochimiki, the chemicalproduction company he inherited from his father. At that time he was 18, and hiscorporation employed 24 people. Two decades later Lavrentiadis’ companies — not

only Neochimiki, but also Alapis (then the biggest pharmaceutical company in Greece)and Proton Bank among many others — were estimated to employ almost 35,000people. In 2012 he was accused of lending h imself and his associates nearly €600million ($760 million) through Proton Bank. An audit by the Bank of Greece found thatmore than 40 percent of Proton's commercial loans in 2010 were made to companiesrelated to Lavrentiadis. He was also accused of fraud, money laundering andmembership in a criminal gang. Lavrentiadis was kept in custody for 18 months and waslater released under restrictive orders. He — and 42 more defendants in the ProtonBank case — are scheduled to stand trial on March 23, 2015.

File details

Lavrentiadis became an HSBC client in October 1998. He was connected to sevenclient accounts, all opened between 1998 and 2002 and later closed. Two of them werenumbered accounts, “28132KD” and “SARGOS84.” The other five had company names.The seven accounts linked Lavrentiadis to at least 12 bank accounts that together heldas much as $4.6 million. The leaked files do not specify the exact role that he had inrelation to the accounts.

* * *

Marat Safin, Politician and former tennis player

Safin, who retired from tennis in 2009, briefly reached the top world ranking for singlesin late 2000. Among his 15 single titles, he won a couple of Grand Slam tournaments:the 2000 U.S. Open and the 2005 Australian Open. In December 2011, Safin waselected to the Russian Parliament as a member of Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party,representing the Nizhny Novgorod region.

File details

Throughout his tennis career, Safin was a resident of Monaco, a tax haven. HSBC filesshow he became a client of the bank in 2005. He was linked to numbered client account

“44344 DS” that listed three bank accounts. Together they held as much as $4.87million in 2006/2007. The leaked files do not specify the exact role that Safin had inrelation to the account.

* * *

Philip (Phil) David Charles Collins, Singer, musician


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Phil Collins is a British singer, songwriter and musician who rose to fame in the 1970sand 1980s as the voice and leader of British pop and rock music group Genesis. As acomposer and drummer he has collaborated with, among others, George Harrison, PaulMcCartney, Eric Clapton and Peter Gabriel, whom he succeeded as lead singer ofGenesis in 1975. He is the recipient of seven Grammy Awards, one Academy Award

and two Golden Globes.File details

Phil Collins was the part beneficial owner of a profile account at HSBC that bore hisname and which was opened in 2000. Seven bank accounts were listed under Collins'shared account, for which the maximum amount in 2006/2007 was $272,191.

* * *

Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Diplomat

Prince Bandar bin Sultan is a member of the House of Saud and was Saudi Arabia'sambassador to the United States from 1983 to 2005. Since 2005, he has been secretarygeneral of the Saudi National Security Council. In addition, he was director of the SaudiIntelligence Agency from 2012 to 2014. In July 2014, he was designated as King

Abdullah's advisor and special envoy. Prince Bandar negotiated, together with MargaretThatcher, the 1985 Al Yamamah deal, a massive arms sale by the United Kingdom toSaudi Arabia worth $80 billion. Arms manufacturer BAE Systems (formerly British

Aerospace) has been accused of funneling secret disbursements into a couple of Saudiembassy accounts in Washington over several years. In 2007 the BBC's investigativeprogram Panorama reported that BAE Systems “paid hundreds of millions of pounds to

the ex-Saudi ambassador to the U.S."File details

HSBC records show Prince Bandar, became an HSBC client in June 1999. He wasconnected to four client accounts. He was the beneficial owner of one named “KafinvestOperating Limited” opened in 2005. The client account listed three bank accounts thattogether held as much as $15.6 million in 2006/2007. Of the other three client accounts,two were closed in 2000 and the third reported a balance of zero.

* * *

Rachid Mohamed Rachid, Minister of Trade and Industry and corporate executive

Rachid Mohamed Rachid was appointed Egypt’s minister of trade and industry in 2004.He kept his post until he fled Cairo shortly after the uprising that ousted President HosniMubarak began in early 2011. Before entering the cabinet, he played prominentcorporate roles in international business. Rachid served as president of Unilever forNorth Africa, the Middle East, and Turkey and was a member of the board of directors


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of HSBC Egypt. In three trials held in Egypt during 2011 and 2014, the former ministerwas convicted in absentia and sentenced to a total of 35 years in prison and ordered topay at least $330 million for illegal profiteering and squandering public funds. Accordingto an Egyptian media report, local authorities are “investigating Rachid’s accounts sincehe fled the country and have reportedly sought Interpol intervention in apprehending

both him and his daughter abroad.” In 2013, Rachid settled two other corruptioncharges by paying a fine of around $2.2 million to Egyptian authorities.

File details

Listed as “President of Unilever for MENA + Turkey,” Rachid Mohamed Rachid becamean HSBC client in 2003. He was beneficial owner of a client account under the name“Lexington Investments Limited” that listed 10 bank accounts. Together they held asmuch as $31 million in 2006/2007.

* * *

Ralph Sonnenberg, Manufacturing executive

Ralph Sonnenberg is Chairman and CEO of the Hunter Douglas Group, a Dutchmultinational that manufactures window coverings and architectural products. He hasbeen CEO since 1971. In 2010 Ralph Sonnenberg was the fifth richest man in theNetherlands. His fortune is estimated at $1.6 billion.

File details

Ralph Sonnenberg became an HSBC client in 1996. He was linked to a client account

bearing his name, formerly numbered account “5562” until 2000. The account held asmuch as $13.3 million in 2006/2007 and listed 10 bank accounts. Sonnenberg wasregistered as “without profession (manage the fortune of the family)” in the HSBCleaked files. The leaked files do not specify the exact role that he had in relation to theaccount. Hunter Douglas of which he is CEO also had a client account under the name“Hunter Douglas International N.V.” that held as much as $3.3 million in 2006/2007.

* * *

Roger Boka, Tobacco magnate

Roger Boka, who died in 1999, owned one of Africa’s biggest tobacco trading floors.Boka was “the first black Zimbabwean to own a private plane and drive a Rolls Royce”and one of the first black Zimbabweans to own a bank. At the time of his death, “Bokawas wanted for questioning over the alleged illegal transfer abroad of $25 million fromhis collapsed United Merchant Bank,” according to the Associated Press, which alsodescribed him as “a leading African black empowerment advocate.”

File details


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Boka was an HSBC client and was linked to a client account under his name. HSBCfiles list him as president of Boka Group that dealt with financial services, gold miningand tobacco export. The leaked files do not specify the exact role that he had in relationto the account.

* * *Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s Crown Prince

In 1999, Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa was sworn in as crown prince and appointedBahrain’s Defense Force commander -in-chief. He was designated deputy primeminister in 2013 by his father King Hamad.

File details

HSBC internal records list Prince Salman as client since 2001. HSBC files show that he

was beneficial owner of two client accounts: “Vision Macro Fund Ltd.” of which he hadan 11 percent stake and “Vision Arbitrage Fund Ltd.” of which he had a 9 percent stake.The two client accounts linked him to at least 10 bank accounts that together held asmuch as $20.9 million in 2006/2007. Of this, his balance was of $2.2 million.

* * *

Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, Sultan of Oman

Sultan Qaboos bin Said succeeded his father, Said bin Taimur, after removing him frompower in a nearly bloodless coup in 1970. According to The Economist, the sultan “has

ruled the Gulf state as an absolute monarch, albeit a benevolent one who has bothunified and modernized Oman.” Sultan Qaboos, in his mid-70s, officially keeps Omanneutral, having contacts with almost every country, including Iran, while allied with theWest. Oman supported the United States during the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 Iraqinvasion. Among his many properties, Sultan Qaboos is the owner of at least five superyachts.

File details

Sultan Qaboos became an HSBC client in 1974. He was linked to four client accountsthat listed 10 bank accounts. Together they held as much as $44.6 million in 2006/2007.

Of the four client accounts, two had his name, one was a numbered account, and theother one was under the name of “The Yacht Squadron Oman Limited” of which he wasbeneficial owner. The leaked files do not specify the exact role that Sultan Qaboos hadin relation to the other three accounts.

* * *

Sultanah Kalsom, Wife of Malaysian royalty


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Sultanah Kalsom, 63, is the second wife of Malaysian royalty, Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Musta’in Billah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Abu Bakar Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mu’adzam Shah.Kalsom became the Sultanah, wife of the sultan of Pahang, one of Malaysia’s ninehereditary states, in 1992 . Sultanah Kalsom is involved in charitable activities acrossMalaysia, including those combating domestic violence and promoting childhood

development and female empowerment. Sultanah Kalsom is also the patron of a “TigerBall” that raises money for protecting endangered tigers across Asia.

File details

Sultanah Kalsom, listed by HSBC as a “housewife,” was connected to a numberedclient account under the name “3678TE” from September 1994 to November 1997. Theleaked files do not specify the exact role that she had in relation to the account.

* * *

The Flick Family, Industrialists, FCF: art collector The Flick family is a German family which formerly held shares in many Germanindustrial companies, including coal and steel producers and the car manufacturerDaimler. In 1947 Friedrich Flick was convicted of war crimes at an Allied war tribunaland spent three years in prison. In 1983 it was revealed that the family had bribedpoliticians to reduce its taxes, and, two years later, Flick's son Friedrich Karl Flick soldthe majority of the holdings to Deutsche Bank for a reported $2.5 billion. Friedrich KarlFlick died in 2006. His fortune was estimated at $8.6 billion at the time. His nephew,Friedrich Christian Flick, Friedrick Flick’s grandson, is an art collector with German -Swiss nationality.

File details

Friedrich Christian Flick, grandson of Friedrich Flick who built the family fortune, waslisted as beneficial owner of three client accounts with HSBC under the names of “Fakir

Anstalt” reported as closed in 2004, “Mexiko Investment Ltd” and “Jakita Corporation”.Together they listed 14 different bank accounts that held as much as $87 million in2006/2007. Barbara Flick, another member of the family, was also listed at one point asbeneficial owner of the three client accounts.

* * *

Timur Kuanyshev, Oil tycoon

Kuanyshev has made investments in Kazakhstan, Russia and worldwide, especially inthe energy sector, but also in construction, agriculture and consumer goods. In 1993,customs officials at the Moscow Domodedovo airport detained four citizens ofKazakhstan, including Timur Kuanyshey and his wife, who were accused of illegallyconcealing $1 million in cash in their underwear but who were never charged.


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Kuanyshey and his wife Alfiya are patrons of Prince Charles’ Foundation for Children &the Arts and supporters of the London Royal Opera House. They were invited to thewedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011.

File details

Kuanyshev became client of HSBC in 2004. He was beneficial owner of two clientaccounts served by 12 bank accounts. Together they held as much as $10.2 million in2006/2007. Kuanyshev was also linked to the numbered client account “34231 AMV” forwhich the maximum amount in 2006/2007 was $2.079 million. His wife, AlfiyaKuanysheva was beneficial owner of at least one of the accounts.

* * *

Valentino Garavani, Fashion designer

Internationally known by his first name, Valentino was the favorite designer of many ofthe world's most famous women. For example, he designed the dress that JacquelineKennedy wore when she married Aristotle Onassis. He retired from the fashion catwalksin 2008 after 45 years in fashion.

File details

Valentino became client of HSBC in 2000. The leaked files revealed the Italian designerwas connected to at least nine bank accounts through a numbered client accountlabelled “3326 CR,” created in 2001, that held as much as $108.4 million in 2006/2007.He was listed as “Attorney A” and “beneficial owner” of the account. Garavani was part

beneficial owner of two other client accounts opened in 2000 and closed in 2004: DibagFashion Developments NV Rub VG and Dibag Fashion Developments NV Rub GG.

* * *

Valentino Rossi, Professional motorcycle rider

Rossi is a multiple MotoGP World Champion. He is one of the most successfulmotorcyclists ever, with nine Grand Prix World Championships. In 2007, Italianauthorities investigated Rossi for suspected tax evasion based on his decision to live inLondon in 2000. In 2008, Rossi and the tax authorities said they had reached an

agreement to settle the case, requiring the motorcyclist to pay €19 million ($27.6million).File details

Valentino Rossi became client of HSBC in 2003. He held a client account named “Kikiki62” that listed two bank accounts. Together they held as much as $23.9 million in2006/2007.


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* * *

Needless to say, for those whose names appear above, or in the yet undisclosedremainder of some 100,000 clients of HSBC, first of all our condolences, and second:prepare for some rather extensive tax audits in your native country. That, or worse.

So are you on the list? Find out with the help of the database search tool below:

if your name is on this list prepare to be audited

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