Swiss bank data on German accounts

["Daniel O'Donnell" <dano () well com>]

Link is to the German newspaper Suddeutsche, and the article is in German.
Google Translate does a fair job, but is not perfect.

The short summary is (may be, based on not-wholly-accurate translation) is
that somebody (or somebodies) in Swiss banks is leaking information on
German tax dodgers, prior to a treaty between the two countries that would
make German government pursuit of the account holders illegal if the
information came from the leaked data.


http://www.sueddeutsche.de/geld/ankauf-von-daten-cds-deals-kurz-vor-ladensch
luss-1.1413267

> (translation): "The purchase of a tax disc with data on approximately 1,000
> customers of the Zurich branch of the private bank Coutts, North
> Rhine-Westphalia by tax authorities will probably have political consequences.
> Because after this business, it has become even more unlikely that the tax
> treaty between Germany and Switzerland as planned on 1 January 2013 to take
> effect."

> Parallel to the acquisition of Coutts CD NRW investigators examine further
> features of the data providers. Swiss Government circles appeared angered by
> the further purchase of a tax disc. In the agreement, both countries forego
> the acquisition of such media. "Both parties are bound by the agreement, as
> long as the ratification process," said the spokesman of the competent State
> Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF) of appearing in Zurich
> Sunday newspaper. Federal Finance Secretary Steffen Kampeter (CDU), told the
> newspaper Neue Westfälische "Shady CD purchases are not a permanent rule of
> law principle." It could be that the agreement in North Rhine-Westphalia
> Federal and blocking the other hand, "as Robin Hood of the taxpayers'
> representative.
>
> But even in Switzerland, the agreement is not without controversy. Several
> organizations have launched a referendum on the way. If you meet the required
> 50 000 signatures, Switzerland, in November of the tax treaty with Germany ,
> and vote on agreements with Britain and Austria.
>
> "Even for tax evaders CDs there is a market"
>
> North Rhine-Westphalia has acquired since 2007, five CDs with information on
> German tax evaders who have stashed their money in Liechtenstein, Switzerland
> and Luxembourg. The country paid for between 2.5 million euros and 4.6 million
> €. In one case, the supplier asked for a donation to a charitable
> organization, and he wanted no money for themselves.
>
> By purchasing the new CD went to the SZ information requires tough price
> negotiations. The stranger said to have demanded 3.5 million euros, but in the
> end receive less than three million €. "Also for tax evaders CDs there is a
> market," said one expert familiar with the facts. Although it is now going to
> some great fortunes in the tens of millions, but "now is the time of the final
> sale may come." If the agreement was ratified yet, there is no longer a
> market.
>
> [...]

_______________________________________________
Dataloss Mailing List (dataloss () datalossdb org)
Archived at http://seclists.org/dataloss/
Unsubscribe at http://datalossdb.org/mailing_list

Supporters:

Risk Based Security (http://www.riskbasedsecurity.com/)
Risk Based Security equips organizations with security intelligence, risk
management services and on-demand security solutions to establish
customized risk-based programs to address information security and
compliance challenges. 

Tenable Network Security (http://www.tenable.com/)
Tenable Network Security provides a suite of solutions which unify real-time
vulnerability, event and compliance monitoring into a single, role-based, interface
for administrators, auditors and risk managers to evaluate, communicate and
report needed information for effective decision making and systems management.