Revenge may be what is driving WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange. In December a Swiss bank, PostFinance closed his bank account containing nearly thirty-one thousand Euros. Assange may be looking for some pay back.
A former Swiss private banker says he is planning to give account information on around 2,000 clients to the whistle blowing website WikiLeaks.
Rudolf Elmer, who was fired from Julius Bär, a leading Swiss private banking group, in 2002 and who faces trial in Switzerland on Wednesday for an earlier breach of bank secrecy laws, told Switzerland’s Der Sonntag newspaper that he intends to hand over two CDs of data to the controversial Internet platform.
Elmer told the newspaper that the CDs include names, balances and transfer information of some 2,000 people who may be guilty of using offshore bank accounts to duck their tax obligations.
“The documents show that they are hiding behind banking secrecy laws, possibly to evade taxes,” Elmer told Der Sonntag, adding that the data came from “at least three financial institutions.”
Elmer will officially give WikiLeaks the information at a Monday press conference in London, which the site’s founder, Julian Assange, is also expected to attend. However, the information will go through a vetting procedure before appearing on the WikiLeaks homepage.
“WikiLeaks will go through the data, and if they really deal with tax evasion, they will be published later,” Elmer said.
Source– Deutsche Welle
The List will contain Approximately 40 politicians
British and American individuals and companies are among the offshore clients whose details will be contained on CDs presented to WikiLeaks at the Frontline Club in London. Those involved include, Elmer tells the Observer, “approximately 40 politicians”.
Source- The Observer.
Rudolf Elmer is Facing Charges Of Violating Swiss Secrecy Laws in 2008
Rudolf Elmer, the former Julius Baer banker who was involved in leaking documents to Wikileaks in 2008, will answer charges of coercion and of violating Switzerland’s banking secrecy laws before a Zurich regional court this month. Wikileaks, against whom the Swiss bank dropped a case in 2008, is not party to the trial.
Elmer will answer charges of coercion and violating Switzerland’s banking secrecy laws on 19 January, with the bank acting as a plaintiff. Wikileaks is not involved in the trial, which will instead focus on the earlier release of data to Swiss media, a spokesperson for the bank said.
Source- WealthBriefing
