Who is the man who exposed the biggest banking scandal

The story of Hervé Falciani (43), the "IT algorithm genius", truly resembles a spy novel plot. He stole the data of owners of accounts worth 180 billion euros from the Swiss branch of the British bank HSBC, where he worked from 2006, reports the Patria News Agency.

Among the clients who hid their wealth from the tax authorities of their home countries were large corporations, famous personalities, and dangerous criminals.

Although he personally identifies with James Bond, Falciani's story is much more akin to the actions of Edward Snowden, a former CIA associate, who revealed information about global espionage.

As in Snowden's case, the data leak that Falciani stole in 2007 echoed like a bomb. Over the past eight years, his actions, which a Swiss court claims were carried out for personal gain, have influenced the judiciaries of the US, France, Spain, Argentina, and Belgium to initiate proceedings against tax evaders.

In Greece, Giorgos Papakonstantinou, the former Minister of Finance, is being held accountable for ignoring the list of those hiding money in Switzerland.

This week, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) began publishing data obtained by Falciani. It revealed that HSBC employees held at least 1,645 meetings with clients and potential clients in 25 countries during 2004 and 2005.

The meetings took place in locations ranging from luxury hotels in Paris and Tel Aviv, a dive bar in Antwerp, and an airport in Congo, to private residences in Copenhagen.

During the controversial meetings, bankers suggested ways for clients to avoid paying taxes in the EU, advising them to open offshore companies and transfer funds to them.

Falciani was born in Monaco and holds dual French-Italian citizenship. He specialized in data mining and was a candidate in the European elections in Spain last year.