Brazil is the country with the most clients in offshore banks.
The statement comes from Hervé Falciani, a computer engineer and former HSBC employee who leaked the Swissleaks client list, data from secret accounts held at HSBC in Switzerland; "Brazil is the largest client of opaque banks in the world," says Hervé; today he dedicates himself to research on financial scandals and collaborates with anti-establishment parties in different European countries, on policies aimed at preventing corruption schemes like the one at HSBC.
GGN newspaper - Estadão has entered the fray over the monopoly of information regarding Swissleaks, data from secret accounts held at HSBC in Switzerland, and managed to interview Hervé Falciani, a computer engineer and former HSBC employee, the source who leaked the client list to the press. "Brazil is the largest client of opaque banks in the world," he warns the Brazilian newspaper.
As the whistleblower who exposed the scheme orchestrated by the bank's Geneva branch, Falciani is the leading authority on Swissleaks. Today, he dedicates himself to research on financial scandals and collaborates with anti-establishment parties in various European countries on policies aimed at preventing corruption schemes like the one at HSBC.
Hervé Falciani reported that Brazil was one of the countries blocking the progress of the investigations, along with France, Italy, and Spain, "for political reasons," and that this was the reason that led him to leak the data to the world press. He revealed: "Brazil is the biggest target of banks that practice financial opacity worldwide. (...) it is the number 1 target of the banks' strategic decision-making centers."
"That's the case for HSBC, of which I was a part, and also for other banks. I always meet with other insiders, and we are convinced that the most interesting country in the world for opaque banks, offshore banks that sell opacity services, is Brazil," he said. The reason, according to Falciani, can be seen in the country's current reaction: "Why is Brazil only now starting to take action to investigate the HSBC case when it is the most exposed country in terms of capital? Why is Brazil only opening investigations into clients, when it has been clear for many years that it is the banks that need to be investigated?" he questioned.
One of the problems with investigations, points out the former HSBC employee, is that "in many countries, like Brazil, it's believed that an investigation should prioritize bank clients, the fraudsters. That's true. But the biggest issue isn't the fraudsters, who are symptoms of the disease." "The causes of the disease are the financial structures, the banks, that offer intermediation. It is their structures that allow and encourage organized crime, fraud, money laundering, and terrorism," he adds.
The computer engineer pointed out that the scheme goes beyond money laundering, but it involves "black money," which corresponds to the "concealment" of the "money trail" carried out by offshore banks. "Offshore banks (in tax havens) account for half of the world's debt in terms of activity volume," he states.
Reporter Andrei Netto decided to question Falciani about the Petrobras corruption scheme, relating it to that of HSBC: "This money ended up in Switzerland and, we can imagine, in many other countries where systems like HSBC's are installed. What does this scandal reveal to you?", he asked. Falciani limited himself to answering that it is an example of money laundering, "an organized scheme to divide the public bidding market," and stated that it is the biggest problem of a democracy.