Update on German Authorities buying information on Germans having hidden money in Swiss Banks Accounts

Since a couple of months ago there have been a lot of fuzz in the media regarding data with information about Germans having undeclared money in Swiss Banks Accounts. The data has been stolen from a Swiss bank and the person who has stolen the information has offered the German state to buy the information.

The German authorities did already in 2008 purchase data stolen from a bank in Lichtenstein and earlier this year the German federal government authorized the state authorities to buy the information, even though it was obtained illegally. Therefore it seemed rather obvious that the states would take the opportunity to hit hard against the tax evasion and on Friday a spokesperson for North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) said it now had received the information about the bank accounts bank on a CD. How much it has paid for the information was not revealed.

The case has deeply shaken Switzerland’s large private banking industry and Germans hold an estimated 200 billion euros in undeclared funds in Swiss banks. Only in the past months almost 6 000 Germans have turned themselves in to the authorities which is expected to make it possible for the German authorities to recover about 500 million euros of lost taxes.

About Offshore Financial Centers from the Economist

The interview was made some years ago but is still interesting and what is being said is still valid. Joanne Ramos, banking correspondent of the Economist, is giving her view on the development of offshore financial centers and their role in international business. You can listen to the interview down below or listen to it at the web site of the Economist.

Swiss Start to Retaliate against USA over UBS

Author: Aurelia Masterson

Executive Summary – There is a political party in Switzerland called the SVP party. It is the country’s largest party. It is angry over the USA versus UBS fight and wants retaliation against the USA. Here we go. Some of the retaliatory measures proposed were as follows:
They said the Swiss National Bank should repatriate the gold it has stored in the USA. Ouch.

The Swiss should ban the sale of US funds in Switzerland to protect Swiss investors after the financial crisis in the USA. The Swiss banks alone have about 3 Trillion dollars and then add in the insurance companies, stock brokers etc. Doom and Gloom on Obama.

The Swiss said they should no longer represent the USA in countries where the US has no diplomatic relations. Hmmmm that will be fun.

The Swiss should not take in any detainees from Guantanamo if in fact they ever close the place as promised. Nice.

The SVP party said they would call for an urgent debate in Parliament to find other ways to protect Swiss Bank Secrecy from further foreign blackmail. This gets a five star rating. Discussion – Obama is way too inexperienced, insecure and weak to stand up to Swiss in the midst of a life threatening financial crisis the USA is in. The Swiss win this one is my guess and the USA loses face. When Obama was a very junior Senator with one year under his belt he started with the Tax Haven Abuse Act, which never went anywhere. Now things are different in that the USA is fighting for its life. Now that the Swiss told the USA to go fly a kite other countries will follow suit for sure.

I would not be too quick to look for Obama handing out money in the form of financial aid for those that comply with his wishes and give up the banking business in their country. This might be the end of the USA international financial terrorism. What is needed is a new international bank wiring system that the USA cannot monitor. Then bring back the old numbered accounts without any need for a beneficiary owner that is a real person and we are back.

In the old days you walked into a lawyers office and bought a shelf corporation with a bank account that had $200 in it. You got two books of checks signed in blank by the lawyer who was the signatory on the account. These were the days before 9/11 and online banking was not so popular and checks were used. The bank had no idea who you were. Lawyers were not having their feet held to the fire for signing on the bank accounts and were need being imprisoned for crimes the client committed. Go Zurich, Go.

-Published 06/10/2009 by Aurelia Masterson, www.panamalaw.org