HSBC Clients With Asian Accounts Said to Face Probe

The U.S. Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation of HSBC Holdings Plc clients who may have failed to disclose accounts in India or Singapore to the Internal Revenue Service, according to three people familiar with the matter.

One client got a letter from the Justice Department in late June that said prosecutors had “reason to believe that you had an interest in a financial account in India that was not reported to the IRS on either a tax return” or a Treasury Department report disclosing foreign accounts, according to copies read to Bloomberg News by lawyers who have seen the letters.