PARIS: France denied restricting UK authorities to pursue tax evaders and contradicted comments by a senior British official.
Britain’s Financial Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke said in parliament this week that France had provided leaked information on accounts at the British bank “under very strict conditions”.
In response, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin told newspaper Le Monde he “did not understand” Gauke’s remarks.
The HSBC data was sent to them in 2010 under our bilateral conventions,” Sapin said in the interview, adding: “If the British tax authorities wanted to open a court case, they most certainly could. Then it’s a matter of judicial cooperation.”
France has had access to leaked HSBC client data since 2008, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which coordinated the release of details.
