Founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has recently taken possession in London of two new tax data discs, reportedly containing the names of 2,000 individuals and businesses alleged to have undisclosed assets in Swiss bank accounts.
Although details of the highly confidential banking information have not as yet been revealed, the list is thought to contain the names of prominent politicians, multinationals as well as multimillionaires from the US, the UK, Switzerland and Germany.
The names and account details were presented to WikiLeaks by a former Swiss private banker, known to have previously illegally supplied confidential banking information to WikiLeaks back in 2008.
The former banker is due to return to Switzerland shortly where he will await trial for violation of banking secrecy and theft of information belonging to financial institutions.
WikiLeaks has confirmed plans to verify the information contained on the two discs before publishing further details.
Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court permitted the use of tax information contained on data discs for criminal prosecutions at the beginning of December last year, ruling that information regarding alleged tax evaders, contained on discs provided by informants, may indeed be used during criminal investigations, irrespective of whether or not the original means by which the data was obtained was deemed to be lawful.
Several tax authorities in Germany provoked outrage in 2010 by electing to purchase tax data discs made available to them by informants, and containing the names and details of Germans alleged to have evaded taxes in both Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
The controversial purchase of the highly confidential banking information proved highly lucrative for the country’s authorities, and has reportedly served to yield in the region of EUR1.8bn for the treasury. It has also proved highly lucrative for the informants, whose identity, presumably, is being protected by state security laws guaranteeing similar levels of secrecy as available under certain Swiss laws, but which are now under attack. One wonders if they have also been set up with secret bank accounts to stash their ill-gotten gains.
Although details of the highly confidential banking information have not as yet been revealed, the list is thought to contain the names of prominent politicians, multinationals as well as multimillionaires from the US, the UK, Switzerland and Germany.
The names and account details were presented to WikiLeaks by a former Swiss private banker, known to have previously illegally supplied confidential banking information to WikiLeaks back in 2008.
The former banker is due to return to Switzerland shortly where he will await trial for violation of banking secrecy and theft of information belonging to financial institutions.
WikiLeaks has confirmed plans to verify the information contained on the two discs before publishing further details.
Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court permitted the use of tax information contained on data discs for criminal prosecutions at the beginning of December last year, ruling that information regarding alleged tax evaders, contained on discs provided by informants, may indeed be used during criminal investigations, irrespective of whether or not the original means by which the data was obtained was deemed to be lawful.
Several tax authorities in Germany provoked outrage in 2010 by electing to purchase tax data discs made available to them by informants, and containing the names and details of Germans alleged to have evaded taxes in both Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
The controversial purchase of the highly confidential banking information proved highly lucrative for the country’s authorities, and has reportedly served to yield in the region of EUR1.8bn for the treasury. It has also proved highly lucrative for the informants, whose identity, presumably, is being protected by state security laws guaranteeing similar levels of secrecy as available under certain Swiss laws, but which are now under attack. One wonders if they have also been set up with secret bank accounts to stash their ill-gotten gains.
