The US Department of Justice has expanded its criminal investigation into foreign banks that sell offshore private banking services to include Credit Suisse and HSBC, reports the NYT, citing people briefed on the matter. The investigation into the two European firms stems from a US tax probe into whether Swiss banking giant UBS helped wealthy Americans dodge taxes through accounts in Switzerland. The investigation into HSBC and Credit Suisse began around September and is focusing on whether the two banks helped wealthy US clients hide up to $30bn in offshore accounts that went undeclared to the US Internal Revenue Service. HSBC, Credit Suisse and the US Justice Department could not be immediately reached for comment.
