Finance Ministry requests info on Croatian clients of HSBC subsidiary

Croatia's Finance Ministry has requested information through the Tax Administration and the Office for Prevention of Money Laundering about Croatian citizens who are clients of the Swiss subsidiary of the British bank HSBC Holdings Plc after it admitted that the subsidiary helped wealthy customers dodge taxes and conceal millions of dollars of assets.

The information has been requested to establish whether Croatian citizens have evaded taxes with the help of HSBC Holdings Plc in Switzerland.

Following the acknowledgement by the British bank, Croatian media reported on Tuesday that 40 Croatians concealed a total of USD 33.2 million in the HSBC Swiss subsidiary.

The Finance Ministry said in a statement to Hina on Tuesday that in this case "there are certain elements indicating tax evasion" and that the tax authorities in Croatia were closely cooperating with relevant institutions in European countries.

The Office for Prevention of Money Laundering can forward requests to foreign financial units only if it has been notified by banks or competent state authorities of suspicious persons or financial transactions.

In 2013 and 2014, the office opened 884 cases on suspicion of money laundering and terrorism financing, and submitted 597 reports with analytical insights into suspicious cases of money laundering and/or terrorism financing. It also issued 78 proposals to banks to freeze the accounts through which suspicious transactions were conducted.

(Hina) ms

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