Several Dominicans figure in Swiss bank scandal

Santo Domingo.- 23 people linked to Dominican Republic, including some Dominicans figure with US$34.3 million in accounts in Switzerland’s HSBC bank subsidiary, according to a filtered list of people which the entity allegedly helped dodge taxes or launder money.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), made the revelation, whose publication ranks the country 127th among nations with the highest dollar amounts in the filtered Swiss files.

The maximum amount of money associated with a customer "linked" to Dominican Republic was US$8.0 million.

The Consortium didn’t disclose the identities of those linked to the country.

It emerged that in the filtered list of personalities figure Formula One driver Fernando Alonso, president of Banco Santander Emilio Botin, and king Abdullah II of Jordan, among others.

According to investigators, the Swiss entity collaborated so that many customers could evade taxes and hide millions of dollars in assets. It also opened accounts for arms and drug traffickers.

Most of the accounts investigated by the CIJ are from 1988 to 2007.