A client of HSBC Bank India, New Jersey businessman Vaibhav Dahake, pleaded guilty in January to conspiring with 5 bankers from HSBC Holdings Plc to hide his assets from the IRS. The plea was recorded in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey just four days after a judge granted permission to the IRS to serve a John Doe summons on HSBC Bank seeking information on suspected HSBC India account holders who have hidden their assets from the IRS in their accounts.

The indictment stated that Dahake, 44, was a client of "one of the largest international banks in the world" with headquarters in England. The IRS fled application to issue the John Doe summons based on Dahake's indictment. US District Judge Freda L. Wolfson set July 22 as the date for sentencing. Dahake, from Somerset, New Jersey could be jailed for up to 5 years for his crime. On the other hand, HSBC Bank spokeswoman Juanita Gutierrez responded by email saying, "HSBC does not condone tax evasion and is cooperating with law enforcement in this matter.”

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