Spain rejects extraditing HSBC whistle-blower Herve Falciani to Switzerland
Swiss courts sentenced Herve Falciani in absentia to five years in jail for leaking details of HSBC clients, many of whom he said he suspected were evading tax
A Spanish court ruled on Tuesday against extraditing Herve Falciani, a former HSBC analyst who leaked documents alleging widespread tax evasion, to Switzerland.
The National Court said in a statement that it had already rejected his extradition in a previous case in 2013, adding there is no equivalent in Spanish law of the crime of “aggravated financial espionage” for which he was convicted in Switzerland.
The court argued that the crime “differs substantially” with Spanish offences that can be considered the most similar, such as “disclosure of secrets”.
“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.
Switzerland’s Federal Office of Justice, which lodged the extradition request, said it does not comment on court rulings.
Falciani was arrested in Madrid in April on his way to a conference on the need to protect whistle-blowers and released on bail.