London - Britain's government will consider introducing a law which would punish banks and accountants for helping people evade tax in the wake of the HSBC SwissLeaks claims, a minister said Sunday.
Danny Alexander, the number two to finance minister George Osborne, said that, if the law was passed, those found guilty would face criminal and financial penalties.
Allegations that London-based HSBC's Swiss private banking arm helped clients in more than 200 countries dodge taxes on accounts containing €180bn ($204bn) have caused a political storm in Britain before a tightly-fought general election in May.