Elmer:Society needs whistle-blowers

(Swissinfo): Rudolf Elmer, a whistle-blower talks to swissinfo.ch about Wikileaks and the role of such organisations “in a media-manipulated world”. Elmer, 55, ran the Caribbean operations of Swiss private bank Julius Bär for eight years until he was dismissed in 2002. He then moved to Mauritius and began sending global tax authorities what he said were the secrets of his former employer. Wikileaks eventually published documents exposing allegedly illegal activities by Julius Bär clients in the Cayman Islands. Julius Bär did not want to comment.

Q swissinfo.ch: Julius Bär fired you in 2002, which is when your dispute began. Why did you decide to give documents to Wikileaks?

Rudolf Elmer: I initially tried to fight offshore abuses myself, but that didn’t get anywhere. I then tried with the federal tax administration in Bern – but again in vain, because the tax administration couldn’t or wouldn’t protect me.

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