Israel arrests four diamond dealers in HSBC Swiss tax evasion case
Four diamond dealers have been arrested by Israeli authorities for allegedly not declaring HSBC Switzerland accounts holding close to ILS 100m (£16.11m) to the Israel Tax Authority. The men, who have all denied the charges, were later released on bail. Israel's tax authority has been cracking down on Israelis who had accounts at HSBC Switzerland, as undeclared finances are illegal.

The four Israeli men are accused of holding close to 100 million shekels (16.11 million pounds)

at the bank that was not reported to the Israel Tax Authority.

A Tel Aviv court later agreed to release them after posting bail. All four have denied the allegations.

Israel's tax authority had been working since February 2015 to obtain a list of Israelis with accounts at HSBC Switzerland. In August, it said that French authorities handed over a list of more than 8,000 Israeli customers.

HSBC early last year acknowledged "past compliance and control failures" that may have allowed some customers to evade taxes.

Having a Swiss bank account is not illegal in Israel as long as it is reported to authorities and taxes are paid.

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; editing by Ralph Boulton)