A French citizen who leaked details of thousands of clients of HSBC’s private bank will not be extradited to Switzerland after Spain’s High Court rejected a second request from the alpine country.
Not a crime in Spain
Herve Falciani appeared at an extradition hearing on 11 September in Spain, but the request was rejected on 18 September as the charges relating to alleged industrial sabotage are not considered a crime in Spain, reports Reuters.
“The Spanish criminal code does not include any charge similar to the crime of ‘aggravated financial espionage’ for which the Swiss justice had sentenced Falciani to a five-year prison sentence,” the court said on Tuesday, reports the newswire.
The ruling can be appealed within three days.
Tax evasions around the world
Falciani triggered tax evasion investigations in several countries; including France, Austria, Belgium, Spain and Argentina, by leaking over 100,000 records in 2008.
The documents indicated that HSBC had helped more than 120,000 clients hide €180.6bn (£160.6bn, $210.6bn) between November 2006 and March 2007.
He was sentenced in absentia to five years in prison in Switzerland.
Regular court appearance
Falciani moved to Spain in 2012, with a local court rejecting a 2013 extradition bid from Switzerland on the same grounds as the current request was refused.
He was detained in Madrid on 4 April following the second extradition attempt, but was freed a day later by a Spanish judge.
Falciani’s passport was seized and he was required to report to the court each week while his case was considered.
