U.S. indicts lawyer they say aided HSBC-linked client

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. grand jury indicted on Thursday a Swiss lawyer accused of aiding a man identified as having an account at London-based HSBC Holdings Plc evade taxes, the latest in a widening probe into foreign banks that might have helped U.S. clients avoid paying tax.

A grand jury indicted Swiss lawyer Felix Mathis, who prosecutors say conspired with Andrew Silva, on charges of perpetrating a tax fraud against the United States, according to court documents obtained by Reuters.

Silva pleaded guilty earlier this year and a source familiar with the probe identified his bank as HSBC. The government described his bank as an international bank headquartered in England.

The indictment also identified a Swiss banker at an international bank as a co-conspirator.

Silver, a doctor from Sterling, Virginia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government by hiding about $250,000 in an undeclared account at a Swiss bank.

Last year, Switzerland's UBS AG admitted to criminal wrongdoing for helping U.S. clients evade taxes. It agreed to pay a $780 million penalty and hand over details on more than 250 client accounts. Later, it agreed to disclose details on about 4,450 accounts to tax investigators.

London-based HSBC has become the latest focus of a widening federal probe of U.S. citizens believed to have stored billions of dollars of assets in offshore accounts.

HSBC says it does not condone or assist tax evasion.

The U.S. Justice Department in a June 21 letter to some HSBC clients warned them that they were the subjects of a criminal investigation.

Mathis, who prosecutors say worked closely with the unnamed Swiss banker, is accused of counselling others in addition to Silva, and faces up to 25 years in prison and a $1.25 million (809,657 pound) fine.

The bank subsequently closed Silva's account.

The case is: USA v Felix M. Mathis, No.1:10-CR-260 in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia.

(Reporting by Kim Dixon; editing by Andre Grenon, Leslie Gevirtz)