HSBC investigated over £134m 'tax evasion' scheme

HSBC is being investigated over a £134m 'tax evasion' scheme created by the bank, The Times has revealed.

Three former employees at the bank's London office have been interviewed under caution for their role in devising a tax scheme that sought to help wealthy backers save millions of pounds in tax.

HSBC has earned fees of around £2m for licensing the scheme, which involved the sale of film rights to the finance company Zeus Partners in 2008.

City bankers and financial advisers who had previously been charged with cheating the public revenue, an offence that can lead to lengthy custodial sentences.

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