BRUSSELS, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Belgian police raided the homesin Brussels and Antwerp of some 20 clients of HSBC Private Bankon Tuesday as part of an investigation into tax evasion,Brussels prosecutors said.
The prosecutors' office said in a statement that theinvestigation had begun after French tax officials handed aCD-ROM disc to their Belgian counterparts containing details ofHSBC Private Bank accounts in Switzerland held by Belgianresidents.
They said 90 federal agents were tasked with establishingwhat part HSBC Private Bank's Swiss arm in Geneva might haveplayed in the administration of its Belgian client base.
A spokeswoman for HSBC declined to comment.
Under EU rules, member states can tax savings even if theyare earned in a different member state and under an agreementsigned between the bloc and Switzerland in 2004 people liable topay Belgian tax were charged a 15 percent tax on interest earnedfrom savings held in Switzerland. In 2011 that rate was raisedto 35 percent.