The Swiss trial of a former HSBC employee who leaked documents alleging the bank helped clients evade millions of dollars in taxes opened on Monday, but in his absence it was immediately adjourned.
Herve Falciani, the 43-year-old French-Italian national who exposed the so-called Swissleaks scandal, had said he would not go to Switzerland for the trial, and on the first day the prosecutor opened the case by requesting an adjournment.
Prosecutor Carlo Bulletti stressed to the federal court in the southern Swiss town of Bellinzona the need for the man of the hour to be present to explain and defend himself, the ATS news agency reported.
The court followed the recommendation, postponing the proceedings until November 2.
Falciani, had told media several weeks ago he would not travel to attend the hearings in Switzerland, where he would risk immediate arrest, because he doubted the Swiss trial would be fair.
Falciani leaked a cache of documents indicating that HSBC's Swiss private banking arm helped more than 120,000 clients hide €180.6 billion (HK$1.6 trillion) from tax authorities.