Ex-Swiss banker says he'll hand files on alleged tax evasion in offshore havens to WikiLeaks

By Raphael G. Satter (CP) – 12 hours ago

The Canadian Press: Ex-Swiss banker says he'll hand files on alleged tax evasion in offshore havens to WikiLeaks

LONDON — A former Swiss banker on Monday handed over documents to WikiLeaks that he alleges detail attempts by wealthy business leaders and lawmakers to evade tax payments.

Rudolf Elmer, a former employee of Swiss-based Bank Julius Baer, said the account holders include "high net worth" celebrities, business leaders and lawmakers from the U.S., Britain and Asia.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared alongside Elmer at London's Frontline Club to collect the files, and praised the ex-banker's attempts to expose alleged shady practices in the financial industry.

Assange said that, with his organization focussed on the publication of its cache of about 250,000 diplomatic cables, it could be several weeks before Elmer's files are reviewed and posted in the WikiLeaks website. "We will treat this information like all other information we get," Assange said. "There will be a full revelation."

Elmer, who has previously leaked banking documents to the secret-spilling site, told journalists that he wanted to expose the offshore banking system. "I want to let society know how this system works," he said. "It's damaging society."

His decision to release the new files to WikiLeaks comes two days before he is due to appear before a Zurich regional court to answer charges of coercion and violating Switzerland's strict banking secrecy laws.

Elmer said he would not reveal what specifically was in the documents, and said that he personally would not disclose "individual companies or individual names" of the account holders.

Assange has made few public appearances since he was released on bail on Dec. 16 following his arrest on a Swedish extradition warrant.

Under the terms of his release, Assange must live at the mansion home of Vaughan Smith, the owner of the Frontline Club. He was compared the regime to "high-tech house arrest," but has recently promised that the flow of leaked documents published by his organization would increase.

Copyright © 2011 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

__________________
"Patriotism means being loyal to your country all the time and to its government when it deserves it."-- Mark Twain

"Inter arma silent Musae"--when the weapons speak, the muses fall silent.

An't nanum hearm deth, doth hwaet ye willath.

It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished
unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets. -Voltaire

Economic Left/Right: -3.88
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -4.36

Swiss whistleblower hands bank data to WikiLeaks

By Mark Hosenball and Olesya Dmitracova, Reuters January 17, 2011

Read more: Swiss whistleblower hands bank data to WikiLeaks


LONDON — A former Swiss private banker handed over data on hundreds of offshore bank account holders to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at a news conference on Monday.

Rudolf Elmer once headed the office of Julius Baer in the Cayman Islands until he was fired by the bank in 2002. He is scheduled to go on trial in Switzerland on Wednesday for breaching bank secrecy.

Elmer handed Assange the data at a news conference at a media club in London. The two yellow and blue discs contain information on 2,000 banking clients who have parked money offshore.

“He (Elmer) is clearly a bona fide whistleblower ... We have some kind of duty to support him in that matter,” said Assange, who is on bail in Britain and fighting extradition to Sweden where he faces questioning over alleged sex crimes.

Assange angered the U.S. authorities after WikiLeaks published hundreds of secret diplomatic cables it had obtained.

Elmer, who worked in the Cayman Islands for eight years, said: “I know how the system works ... It’s damaging ... (I want) to educate our society.”

WikiLeaks will vet the data before publishing it. Vetting will be done by themselves, media organizations and other partners to protect sources among other concerns. The process will take at least two weeks, Assange said.

On Sunday, Elmer told Reuters that he hoped his appearance at the news conference would both call attention to offshore financial abuses and promote WikiLeaks as a mechanism for other whistleblowers to air their stories.

Julius Baer said Elmer, who the company fired in 2002, had other motives.

“After his demands (including financial compensation) in connection with the dismissal could not be satisfied, Mr. Elmer embarked in 2004 on a personal intimidation campaign and vendetta against Julius Baer,” the bank said in a statement.

“The aim of his activities was and is to discredit Julius Baer as well as clients in the eyes of the public.”

On Sunday, Elmer told Reuters he hoped Monday’s news conference would call attention to offshore financial abuses and that WikiLeaks was his last hope to get his message out.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Read more: Swiss whistleblower hands bank data to WikiLeaks

__________________
"Patriotism means being loyal to your country all the time and to its government when it deserves it."-- Mark Twain

"Inter arma silent Musae"--when the weapons speak, the muses fall silent.

An't nanum hearm deth, doth hwaet ye willath.

It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished
unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets. -Voltaire

Economic Left/Right: -3.88
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -4.36