Swiss Not Shy About Asking For Help They Won't Give


The Swiss are taking a stand against the cross-border undermining of laws and the aiding and abetting of illegal activities internationally. At least when it comes to their laws, anyway.

Swiss prosecutors have charged a German IT expert with selling client data from private bank Julius Baer in Zurich to the German tax authorities, they said on Friday.

The man, who was arrested last July and is charged with breaching banking laws, industrial espionage and money laundering, had confessed and would therefore face a shorter trial. They dropped proceedings against his wife.

An accomplice, identified only as a retired German tax inspector, was under investigation, the prosecutors said in a statement. A Swiss request for German legal assistance in the investigation had gone unanswered, they said.

Given their own refusal to play well with others, re: international tax evasion, we're not sure whether the Swiss actually expected a different reply—or if they just asked to be dicks.

Switzerland charges man with selling bank's client data to Germany [Reuters]