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UBS logo - Source: Reuters -
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Germany is in principle willing to purchase bank data on
suspected tax evaders even if the information is obtained
illegally, a spokesman for the Finance Ministry said.
A whistleblower has offered to sell German authorities the bank
data of up to 1,500 possible tax evaders with accounts in
Switzerland which could lead to 100 million euros for German state
coffers, media reported at the weekend.
"The government will do everything it can to stop tax evasion,"
said Finance Ministry spokesman Michael Offer.
"The decision will be based on the line that was established
with the Liechtenstein case in 2008."
In this case, Germany purchased stolen data from an informant about
clients of Liechtenstein's main bank LGT, sparking a huge
investigation into tax evasion.
The case snared former Deutsche Post chief Klaus Zumwinkel, who was
given a suspended jail term for evading nearly a million euros in
taxes using a Liechtenstein trust.
Offer said it was the responsibility of individual German states to
decide what to do with such data, in co-operation with the federal
government.
He said the authorities were seeking to quickly clarify legal
issues surrounding the case.
Shares in Swiss bank UBS fell, chiefly due to comments by the
country's justice minister about the risk to the Swiss economy,
should the bank's settlement of a US tax dispute unravel.
However, traders said the weekend reports that Germany was
considering buying data on bank accounts in Switzerland was also
hitting the stock as investors feared that some could belong to
UBS, Switzerland's biggest wealth manager.
