The investigative documentary "Falciani's Tax Bomb" follows the tracks of the charismatic yet obscure whistleblower Herve Falciani who--being responsible for the so-called Swiss Leaks--caused the biggest bank data theft in the history of HSBC Bank. In 2008, Falciani, an IT-specialist and former employee of HSBC's Swiss branch, leaked more than 100.000 private bank accounts with origins in over 200 countries totalling more than 75 billion Euros to the French authorities. Amongst the clients were royals from the Middle East, Syria's president Bashar al-Assad or China's former Premier Li Peng as well as celebrities such as the singer David Bowie or the racing driver Fernando Allonso, or the president of Santander Bank Emilio Botin. What is more, special relations to alleged blood diamond traders, gunrunners and patrons of terror are being revealed constantly.
His list was passed to numerous international governments' and tax authorities' hands--yet the handling of the delicate data varies from country to country ranging from hesitant to proactive. The film analyses at close range who and what is behind the HSBC data leak's headlines: It is the story of a six-year cat-and-mouse game between the whistleblower Herve Falciani, the Swiss judicial authority and tax authorities all over the world. The "Edward Snowden of banking" is still on the run from being arrested by Swiss authorities.
Did Falciani actually overthrow bank secrecy and did he significantly add to the banishment of tax havens? The world of tax fraud has most certainly changed though--thanks to whistleblowers like Herve Falciani.
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