Swiss leaks: Donegal jeweller John Crossan held HSBC account

John Crossan (born 1945), a businessman based in Porthaw, Co Donegal, appears in the HSBC files, where he is described as a jeweller.

The file indicates a maximum balance on his account of about $60,000 in the 2005/2006 year.

A note on the file from just before Christmas 2005 indicates that the bank contacted Mr Crossan by phone and informed him that the balance in the account was too small.

“I was told he would probably come early in 2006 and move his assets to his other bankers,” the note reads. The file also indicates that the correspondence on the account was kept in the bank.

Mr Crossan is associated with Crossan Jewellers in Buncrana, Co Donegal. Requests from The Irish Times for a comment met with no response.

In the third quarter of 2012, Mr Crossan, described as a landlord, was on a list of tax defaulters where he was reported as having made a €14,930 settlement – €5,729 in tax and the rest in interest and penalties.

The case arose from an offshore assets investigation and had to do with the underdeclaration of income tax.

John Hall (born 1932), with an address in Crumlin, is described as retired in his file in the HSBC data.

His account appears to be connected with a British Virgin Islands trust management company. He also appears to have an address in Manchester.

In the second quarter of 2012, a retired moneylender called John Hall, of the same address in Crumlin, made a €720,045 settlement with Revenue, of which €200,756 was income tax and the rest interest and penalties. The settlement was described as arising from a Revenue offshore assets investigation in Iris Oifigiúil.

Efforts to contact Mr Hall were unsuccessful.