Banking secrets handed to WikiLeaks

[sandinista]

This should be interesting

A former Swiss banker has passed on documents allegedly detailing tax evasion attempts by hundreds of business leaders, politicians and celebrities to the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.

Rudolf Elmer, an ex-employee of Swiss-based private bank Julius Baer, handed over two CDs containing the data to Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, at a press conference in London on Monday.

The disks are thought to contain details of 2,000 individuals.

Elmer has said the information includes details on politicians, multinational companies and financial institutions from the United States, Europe and Asia, all secretly avoiding paying tax.

"I do think as a banker I have the right to stand up if something is wrong," Elmer said, addressing reporters at London's Frontline Club, alongside Assange.

"I am against the system. I know how the system works and I know the day-to-day business. From that point of view, I wanted to let society know what I know. It is damaging our society."

Assange promised "full revelation" of the data, but said it would be weeks before any of the information could be checked and published by the WikiLeaks website.

Vetting will be done by Wikileaks, media organisations and other partners in order to protect sources, Assange said.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europ ... 82302.html

[Azathoth]

[Coito ergo sum]

Well - we'll see - this guy Rudolf Elmer may have some problems depending on what kind of information he's disclosing. These days, people's banking information is protected under serious privacy regulations, and disclosing that kind of information could itself be a federal crime in the United States, and also in the EU and under European national laws. In the US, the country I'm most familiar with, we have the Gramm Leach Bliley regulations involving the Safeguarding of personal financial records. Obviously, US federal law doesn't really apply in Switzerland, but I am fairly sure they and the EU have similar privacy regulations for people's financial information.

Then we have the issue of whether the information reveals criminal activity. In that way, the revelation of the data could have a good aspect, in that law enforcement may find money launderers and tax evaders.

But, that's a big if. It is not a crime to "avoid" taxes. It is a crime to "evade" taxes. In other words, if you find a legal way to avoid paying taxes, that's fine. If, however, you "evade" taxes that you ought lawfully pay, then that's a crime. If these folks disclose to the public personal financial data of people who are not breaking the law, but are merely exploring legal ways to avoid paying taxes, then Elmer is going to have a serious problem, and perhaps Wikileaks. I am pretty sure modern privacy laws also prohibit downstream further dissemination of personal financial info (ie, if you mistakenly get sent someone else's bank statements, you aren't free to publish them in the newspaper...).

Elmer said - "I do think as a banker I have the right to stand up if something is wrong." Really? O.k. - if you think it was wrong, why didn't you march down to law enforcement and blow the whistle?

[Thinking Aloud]

Switzerland isn't in the EU. Just for clarity.

[klr]

Switzerland isn't in the EU. Just for clarity.

And it only joined the UN in 2002. Must have taken all that time to launder that Nazi gold ...

[Coito ergo sum]

Switzerland isn't in the EU. Just for clarity.

Yes, that's why I said "they and the EU." In an international context, it's not just the law of the location of the bank's main branch that will be at issue. The people doing this banking are located all over - and probably mostly in the US and other European countries, and the Swiss bank at issue will likely have branches and be doing business not just in Switzerland but in many countries. So, I am not sure what law what law will apply to a given situation - it may depend on the banking customer and what office of the bank h was dealing with.

It's a sticky situation, in any case...

[Xamonas Chegwé]

It will be very interesting to see what happens if the American CEO of a large corporation, that has filed personal tax returns for US$20 million is shown to have deposited US$100 million in a Swiss bank in the same year. Would his right to privacy overweigh the IRS' right to his dosh?

[Coito ergo sum]

It will be very interesting to see what happens if the American CEO of a large corporation, that has filed personal tax returns for US$20 million is shown to have deposited US$100 million in a Swiss bank in the same year. Would his right to privacy overweigh the IRS' right to his dosh?

Well, his remedy for the violation of his right to privacy may be against the people who violated his right to privacy, and if he is found to owe money, then he will nevertheless have to pay it. It's not automatic that a violation of privacy means the government can't use information against you, especially if the government isn't the one who did anything wrong.

It will also depend on if that American CEO violated any laws. If he earned that $100 million outside of the US and paid foreign tax on it, then he may not have done anything wrong. It could also be a European CEO.

[Clinton Huxley]

Could catch out a few hypocrites

[Blondie]

Switzerland isn't in the EU. Just for clarity.

And it only joined the UN in 2002. Must have taken all that time to launder that Nazi gold ...

Hey! Don't be badmouthing Switzerland. I fully intend to be living in Zurich soon. >:(