More evidence of Swiss banking rip offs

NPR - A huge trove of leaked documents is shedding new light on the secretive Swiss banking industry.

The documents were downloaded by a former computer security expert at the giant bank HSBC, and they were released over the weekend by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

The documents contain records of some 30,000 accounts kept at HSBC's Swiss subsidiary between 2005 and 2007. The accounts contained almost $120 billion and were tied to politicians, royalty, designers and sports figures in every part of the world. They were also tied to corrupt businessmen, dictators, arms industry officials and high-end criminals.

The records show bank employees actively helped customers conceal the accounts from authorities. The bank also provided customers with bundles of cash in various currencies so they couldn't be traced.