JESSICA DESVARIEUX: Welcome to the Real News Network. I'm Jessica Desvarieux in Baltimore.
He's a name you might not have heard of, but you should know: Herve Falciani. He is sometimes
called the Ed Snowden of banking. Back in 2008 he committed the most significant theft
of data in banking history. The former systems engineer at the Swiss subsidiary of HSBC downloaded
details of more than 100,000 potential tax evaders and made the information available
to the account holders' national tax agencies. He's been wanted by the Swiss government for
seven years and counting.
Here to discuss his case is James Henry. James is a leading economist, attorney, and investigative
journalist who has written extensively about global issues. Thank you so much for joining
us, James.
JAMES HENRY: Glad to be here.
DESVARIEUX: So James, Falciani, he's supposed to face trial in the first week of November.
But he's come out saying that he would not attend his trial because he won't be given
a fair trial in Switzerland. Can you just briefly explain the charges the Swiss government
has brought against him, and do you think his claim is valid?
HENRY: Well, Switzerland has very tough bank secrecy laws and trade secret laws, and they
have indicted him in absentia. He faces a trail in absentia on November 2, next week.
So he's wisely, I think, decided not to go back to Switzerland. He's actually in France
helping the French authorities prosecute the bank that he was employed at, HSBC, and its
Geneva branch where they had been helping more than 130,000, actually, clients from
all over the planet, including many politically influential people, evade taxes and protect
stolen assets.
So from a Swiss standpoint, they don't have a whistleblowing protection law. They have
a kind of witch hunt that they go after--this is just one of a number of whistleblower cases
that have actually exploded in Switzerland since the 2008 crisis. And you know, routinely
they, they look at the crimes committed by the so-called whistleblower, and not at the
crimes committed by their own banks.
DESVARIEUX: All right. James, can we sort of put Falciani's actions into context? As
I stated in the introduction, we're talking about the largest theft of data in banking
history. What is some specific information to come out of this data leak, and what would
be especially relevant for those citizens looking for tax justice?
HENRY: Well in the case of, let's say Argentina, which has indicted HSBC for abetting tax dodging,
or the Indian government, which is prosecuting HSBC for abetting tax dodging. Falciani has
helped--the French, as well, for the same basic prosecution of HSBC. This is a case
where this bank and many other large, global banks in the haven industry basically help
the wealthiest people on the planet evade taxes and protect kleptocracy, stolen assets
from their governments. Once those assets are parked in a Swiss account, or trust, or
company, they're basically immune to the reach of their own governments. Falciani is I think,
you know, just one of a number of whistleblowers who is helping to expose this behavior and
bring it to light, and then try to put pressure on Switzerland to cut it out.
DESVARIEUX: Yeah. And I want to understand what's going to be next for Falciani. He's
currently living in France, as you mentioned, working with the French government. But what
is his future going to really look like?
HENRY: Well, he was an IT specialist here. I think, you know, it's--in general, whistleblowers
pay a heavy price for their activities. You know, there have been a couple that have received
large rewards in the United States. Bradley Birkenfeld. But in general a place like Switzerland,
they're determined to go after them. And they made the lives of people like Rudy Elmer,
another Swiss whistleblower, miserable.
So this kind of prosecutorial behavior on the part of the Swiss government really deserves
to be resisted by other countries. But so far, you know, it's the whistleblowers that
are paying the price here for exposing this outrageous industry.
DESVARIEUX: All right. James Henry joining us from New York. Thank you so much for being
with us.
HENRY: You're quite welcome.
DESVARIEUX: And thank you for joining us on the Real News Network.