PARIS: France’s prime minister says the country’s tax authorities have audited some 2,300 account holders named in once-secret papers that outlined how Britain’s HSBC bank helped the wealthy dodge taxes.
Manuel Valls told Europe 1 radio that the HSBC list, which has been in French authorities’ possession for years, helped tax authorities launch the audits, which led to 103 actions against “the most problematic cases.”
Valls’ comments came after details of some 30,000 accounts with $120 billion of assets were analyzed by the French daily Le Monde, The Guardian in Britain, BBC and Washington-based Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Valls said France is “very determined” to fight tax evasion and will continue to take action at home and at the European level.
