Parliament probes offshore accounts

The House of Commons finance committee has launched a formal investigation into allegations Canadians are stashingmoney in offshore bank accounts to avoid paying taxes.

More than 1,700private offshore bank accounts belonging to Canadians turned up on a list of secret accounts in Switzerland, a joint CBC News/Globe and Mail investigation into possible tax evasion hasfound.

The Canadians on the list are part of a larger group that includes about 80,000 accounts belonging to HSBC Private Bank clients held in Geneva, according to Herve Falciani, a former HSBC employee working in Geneva

Falciani compiled the names and account numbers of more than 80,000 foreigners who were using Swiss-based HSBC accounts to possibly conceal money. Against the bank's wishes, information on the accounts which had a minimum deposit of $500,000 US have since been handed over to governments in France, Italy and elsewhere.

The opposition criticized the government last week for not pursuing potential tax evaders more aggressively. Prime Minister Stephen Harperhas vowedthat the government would pursue with "the full extent of the law" Canadians who are using secret Swiss bank accounts to avoid paying taxes.