Spain’s National Court plans to investigate Emilio Botín, the chairman of Banco Santander SA, and other members of his family for potential tax evasion involving funds in Switzerland, according to news reports. The investigation is the result of the leak of client names from HSBC Holdings PLC’s private bank in Switzerland.
Five of Botín’s children — including his eldest daughter, Ana Patricia Botín, who is CEO of the bank’s U.K. unit — are among the 11 family members under investigation. Also being investigated are Botín’s brother, Jaime Botín, and five of Jaime’s children,
Bloomberg reported.
A
Wall Street Journal
article
said Emilio Botín’s father, who died in 1993, originated the Swiss account and passed the money to his children and grandchildren. The Botín family said it has already paid 200 million euros ($283.6 million) in back taxes and expects to be exonerated, the
Journal
report noted.
A criminal investigation had to be launched before the statute of limitations for the 2005 data expired at the end of June, the
Journal
article said. If the Botíns’ amended tax returns are complete, the investigation will be dropped, according to the report.
The Botíns are among the most prominent individuals to be caught up in the case of the Swiss data. They have been at the helm of Santander for generations and have wide-ranging business interests.
(Sources: Bloomberg, June 16, 2011;
Wall Street Journal,
June 17, 2011.)
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