* Falciani gave prosecutors in France, Spain client data
* Says he was trying to help governments catch tax evaders
* Swiss attorney general says he aimed to profit from data (Adds Falciani comment in French newspaper, edits)
By Joshua Franklin
ZURICH, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Switzerland has charged a formercomputer analyst at HSBC's private bank in Geneva withindustrial espionage and breaching the country's secrecy lawsfor passing confidential client data to foreign authorities.
Herve Falciani gave prosecutors in France and Spain data onthousands of Swiss bank accounts. He has previously told Reutersthat he is a whistleblower trying to help governments track downcitizens who used accounts in Switzerland to evade paying tax.
But Switzerland's attorney general, which did not identifyFalciani by name, said on Thursday the former IT analyst hadtried to profit from the data. It accused him of trying to sellthe information to banks in Lebanon.
"Sometimes celebrated as a hero abroad, the Franco-Italiannational is now to answer for his alleged crimes before a Swisscourt. The Swiss Criminal Procedure Code does not exclude thepossibility of holding a court trial of the accused person inabsentia," the attorney general's office said in a statement.
The attorney general said HSBC and several bank customerswere also taking part in the proceedings as private claimants.
Efforts to contact Falciani through his lawyer in Francewere unsuccessful.
In an interview with French newspaper La Croix published onTuesday, Falciani hinted at the justice probe.
"The struggle against corruption has caused me a lot oftrouble. I have also won the satisfaction of accomplishing,along with others, my duty as a citizen."
His former employer, HSBC, declined to comment.
Whistleblowers in Switzerland, where breaking secrecy law ispunishable by jail, have typically been pursued aggressively bySwiss prosecutors.
HSBC has previously disputed various aspects of Falciani'sstory, including his contention that he is a whistleblower --the bank contends he tried to sell the data he absconded withand only cooperated with prosecutors when he was arrested inSpain to face extradition charges.
HSBC has also denied any role in helping clients avoidtaxes.
The list of HSBC clients supplied by Falciani has promptedinvestigations across the globe. Last month, Argentina chargedHSBC with helping more than 4,000 clients evade taxes via secretSwiss bank accounts and a Belgian judge charged HSBC's Swissprivate bank with tax fraud and money laundering.
French prosecutors are also probing whether HSBC offeredillicit products to help French clients avoid tax.
Monaco-born Falciani, who has French and Italiancitizenship, collected data on HSBC account holders when heworked in its information technology department from 2006 to2008. (Additional reporting by Andrew Callus in Paris.; Editing byCarmel Crimmins, Pravin Char and Mark Potter)