LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - A campaign group has begun alegal process that could lead to Britain's tax authority facinga judicial review over its failure to take a tougher line withpeople alleged to have used accounts with an HSBC unitin Switzerland to evade tax.
The February leak of documents on thousands of Swiss bankaccounts has caused embarrassment for businesspeople andpoliticians across the world and left HSBC facing scrutiny fromlawmakers and law enforcers in Europe and the Americas.
Rights group Avaaz said in a statement on Friday that it hadwritten to Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) asking why itoffered Britons named in the leaked records the opportunity toescape prosecution by bringing money onshore via a tax amnesty.
If Avaaz is unhappy with the response, it can apply to theHigh Court for a judicial review on whether HMRC's actions werelawful.
Avaaz is represented by law firm Leigh Day, whichrepresented campaign group UK Uncut in its action for a judicialreview of a tax deal HMRC cut with Goldman Sachs.
A High Court judge ruled in that case that HMRC had actedlawfully, but the revelation of details of the negotiationsbetween the two sides was embarrassing for both.
HMRC said it had acted "effectively" on the HSBC data and"will strongly contest any action".
HSBC declined to comment. (Reporting by Tom Bergin; Editing by David Goodman)
HSBC Holdings (HSBA)