(This story originally appeared in on Feb 20, 2015)

NEW DELHI: The income tax department is expected to issue a notice to HSBC shortly seeking explanation from the British financial giant after a sting operation alleged that employees of the bank were involved in money laundering "We will follow up on the investigations undertaken by a portal," said a source who did not wish to be identified. The sting operation had revealed that employees of several domestic and foreign banks were engaged in alleged money laundering.HSBC said it had zero tolerance to any breach of law and had vowed "appropriate action" if any employee was found to be involved in any wrongdoing. The government had ordered state-run banks to deal firmly with employees found to be involved in any wrongdoing.HSBC has come into the spotlight again after a fresh list revealed by an international body of journalists named more Indians, including large firms and political leaders, holding accounts in the bank's branch in Geneva.Finance minister Arun Jaitley has said tax authorities will check the veracity of the new names in the list. The government has said the tax department has launched 60 prosecutions from an earlier list of Indian account holders in a Swiss branch of HSBC and most of the names revealed in the latest list were known to authorities.Tax authorities are also expected to file fresh complaints based on the latest revelations to investigate whether there has been any breach of domestic tax laws.The government has vowed to step up its fight against black money and has taken a series of steps to get evaders to cough up taxes.