Film investors chase HSBC for £1.3bn

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HSBC faces £1.3bn legal claim for its involvement in film financing scheme set up to avoid tax

  • HSBC’s private banking arm helped to promote the scheme 
  • It is estimated to have made £25million in fees 

By Neil Craven for The Mail on Sunday

Published: | Updated:

HSBC faces a £1.3billion legal claim for its involvement in a Disney film financing scheme set up to avoid tax.

Investors were told that Eclipse Partnerships would exploit the rights to films, including Pirates Of The Caribbean 2 and 3, National Treasure 2 and Enchanted. 

But the law firm Edwin Coe, which is believed to have recently filed court papers, said investors face demands for as much as ten times their investment from Revenue & Customs. Many were persuaded to take loans to invest and are now bankrupt.

HSBC’s private banking arm helped to promote the scheme

HSBC’s private banking arm helped to promote the scheme and is estimated to have made £25million in fees.

David Greene, a partner at Edwin Coe, is representing 371 of the 750 affected, including celebrities. Retired policeman and lead claimant Chris Upham said he invested £25,000 in what ‘seemed like a great opportunity’.

But he said tax demands later turned it into an ‘absolute horror story’.

HSBC declined to comment.

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