About 24,000 clients of HSBC's private banking operation in Switzerland had personal details stolen by a former employee, the company has admitted...

...News of the theft comes as the US and some countries in Europe try to crack down on tax evasion through the use of overseas accounts. In recent years there has been pressure on Switzerland and Liechtenstein to become more transparent about accounts held there. This is thought to have led to some bank employees stealing account data and passing it to tax authorities.

In Germany, an anonymous informer has offered to sell data stolen from an unnamed Swiss bank to tax officials. Previously, Germany bought similar stolen data about clients of a bank in Liechtenstein. Some of this information was handed to tax authorities in the UK, which is also thought to have paid for the data.

French tax authorities are thought to be investigating up to 3,000 of its nationals using bank accounts outside the country.

Government authorities have defended paying for stolen data as in the public interest. However, the practice has been strongly criticised.

The UK's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) office paid around £100,000 for information about its taxpayers with bank accounts in Liechtenstein, according to accountants UHY Hacker Young.
"Paying criminals for data stolen from banks is highly questionable," said the firm's tax partner, Roy Maugham.

"If people know that there is a market for this data, they will steal it in expectation that HMRC or another tax authority will hand over a six figure sum," he said.

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