Swiss authorities have charged a former computer analyst at the private bank of HSBC in Geneva with industrial espionage and breach of secrecy laws for sending client data abroad.

Swiss authorities have charged a former computer analyst at the private bank of HSBC in Geneva with industrial espionage and breach of secrecy laws for sending client data abroad, Reuters reported.

HSBC declined to comment to WealthBriefing about the matter.

The report said Herve Falciani gave prosecutors in France and Spain data on thousands of Swiss bank accounts. He has previously told the news service that he is a whistleblower trying to help governments track down citizens who used accounts in Switzerland to evade paying tax.

But Switzerland's attorney general, which did not identify Falciani by name, has said that Falciani had tried to profit from the data. It accused him of trying to sell the information to banks in Lebanon.

"Sometimes celebrated as a hero abroad, the Franco-Italian national is now to answer for his alleged crimes before a Swiss court. The Swiss Criminal Procedure Code does not exclude the possibility of holding a court trial of the accused person in absentia," the attorney general's office said in a statement.

The report adds to a number of recent episodes that have presented HSBC’s private banking business in a potentially unflattering light. The Swiss private banking part of the firm has been charged by a Belgian court with tax fraud and money laundering after being accused of helping wealthy customers avoid tax, costing hundreds of millions of euros in unpaid taxes. Prosecutors allege that the bank helped hundreds of clients, including diamond dealers in Antwerp, move money to onshore tax havens located mainly in Panama and the British Virgin Islands. HSBC says it is co-operating with investigations. Meanwhile, Argentina’s tax agency has charged HSBC for helping more than 4,000 clients evade taxes by hiding their money away in secret Swiss bank accounts.

In the Falciani case, HSBC has previously challenged parts of the man’s version of events, the news service said, giving the example of his claim that he is a whistleblower. HSBC has claimed he tried to sell the data he absconded with and only cooperated with prosecutors when he was arrested in Spain to face extradition charges.

Monaco-born Falciani, who has French and Italian citizenship, collected data on HSBC account holders when he worked in its information technology department from 2006 to 2008.