KINIBIZ Sultanah Kalsom, the wife of the sultan of Pahang, has appeared on the controversial leaked list of Malaysians with accounts at HSBC’s Swiss bank, according to a report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

The report, also referred to as Swiss Leaks, ranks Malaysia 87th among the countries with the largest dollar amounts in the leaked files on HSBC clients. The maximum amount associated with a client connected to Malaysia was US$67.7 million (RM242 million).

The Swiss Leaks, which have caused furore due to subsequent allegations against HSBC of abetting concealment and tax evasion, details 77 client accounts opened by Malaysians between 1982 and 2006 and linked to 201 bank accounts worth approximately US$174 million.

The top 10 countries (according to value) in the Swiss Leaks of HSBC accounts are Switzerland (US$31.2 billion), United Kingdom (US$21.7 billion), Venezuela (US$14.8 billion), USA (US$13.4 billion), France (US$12.5 billion), Israel (US$10 billion), Italy (US$7.5 billion), Bahamas (US$7 billion), Brazil (US$7 billion) and Belgium (US$6.3 billion).

The 63-year-old sultanah, listed by HSBC as a ‘housewife’, is linked to a numbered client account tagged ‘3678TE’ from September 1994 to 1997. The leaked files did not reveal specifically the exact role she played with regard to the account or how much money was in it.

The other Malaysians in the HSBC Swiss Leaks have not been named. Sultanah Kalsom has not responded to ICIJ’s repeated requests for comment.

For the full story go to KiniBiz .