Amid Massive Scandal, HSBC Raided in Geneva: 10 Big Developments in Money Laundering Probe

Geneva's public prosecutor said it had opened a criminal inquiry into allegations of aggravated money laundering. The prosecutors said they had opened the probe against the bank itself, but the inquiry could extend to individuals.

The raids took place at HSBC's Swiss headquarters. 

The announcement of the criminal inquiry comes just over a week after HSBC Switzerland found itself at the epicentre of a massive global scandal following the publication of secret documents.

The cache of files, made public in the so-called SwissLeaks case, claimed HSBC's Swiss private banking arm helped clients in more than 200 countries evade taxes on accounts containing $119 billion.

"Following the recent revelations related to the HSBC Private Bank (Switzerland), the public prosecutor announces the opening of a criminal procedure against the bank... for aggravated money laundering," Geneva prosecutors said in a statement.

HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, apologised to customers and investors on Sunday for past practices at its Swiss private bank following allegations that it helped hundreds of clients dodge taxes.

Spokesmen for HSBC in Geneva and London declined to comment.

The bank has said compliance and controls at its Swiss private bank in the period up to 2007 fell short of requirements. 

But it said the business had been transformed in recent years, adding that many people alleged to have been customers had long since left and that some were never clients.

The disclosures have sparked a political row in Britain over practices at HSBC and whether tax authorities had done enough to pursue possible wrongdoers. Some other tax authorities are looking at the allegations to assess if their nationals evaded tax.