HSBC stolen data affects 15,000 clients

HSBC Holdings now says that data stolen by a former employee affected about 15,000 Swiss clients rather than “less than 10 clients” as it initially claimed.

Herve Falciani, a former IT specialist with the bank in Geneva, has admitted to stealing client data from HSBC, which he passed on to French tax authorities.

Falciani is now living in the south of France, where he enjoys immunity from prosecution.

The bank initially acknowledged the theft of data from its Swiss private bank’s headquarters in 2006 and 2007 in December. But at that time it said that fewer than 10 clients were involved “to the best of its knowledge.”

HSBC said on Thursday that Swiss authorities had provided assurances they would not support use of the stolen data to answer requests from foreign governments about tax issues, Reuters reported.

“It is now clear that the theft, which was perpetrated by a former IT employee about three years ago, involves approximately 15,000 existing clients who had accounts with the bank in Switzerland before October 2006,” HSBC said.