MADRID, May 8 (Reuters) - Spain has ruled againstextraditing a former HSBC employee who is wanted inSwitzerland on charges of stealing data on tens of thousands ofbank accounts that a number of European countries have used topursue suspected tax evaders.
Switzerland had asked for Herve Falciani, who has Italianand French citizenship, to be extradited to face chargesincluding unauthorised obtaining of data, breach of tradesecrecy, industrial espionage and violation of banking secrecy.
Falciani has acknowledged taking the data but describeshimself as a whistleblower against what he calls "scandalous"practices at Swiss banks.
In a ruling published on Wednesday, Spain's High Court saidthe charges Falciani faces in Switzerland are not consideredcrimes under Spanish law.
Tax authorities in France, Italy, Spain and Germany haveused the data from Falciani to pursue billions of euros in losttaxes.
Falciani fled to France in 2009 after HSBC discovered thedata leak and put him under investigation. In July last year hetraveled to Spain, where he was detained on an internationalarrest request triggered by the Swiss warrant.
He had received a conditional release from custody inDecember ahead of the extradition proceedings, which took placelast month.
A former Spanish tax authority told the High Court judgesthat Spain had used Falciani's data, received from France, to goafter hundreds of suspected tax evaders and collect 250 millioneuros ($327 million) in levies.
Switzerland has three days to appeal the court's decision.