Swiss banks prepare to give up secrets to US
(Swiss-info): Switzerland is preparing to send information about alleged tax cheats to the United States, a Swiss newspaper claimed on Friday, without naming its source. The German-language Tages-Anzeiger says there was a “secret meeting” last week between the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF) and the “core group” of 11 Swiss banks currently in the sights of the US tax authorities. The banks were allegedly told to put together the files of their US clients. A first batch of data is to be sent at the end of October, with several thousand more to follow in the middle of November, the paper says.
An SIF spokesman refused to comment on the report. He told the paper only that discussions with the US were still underway. “Requests for administrative assistance on the issue are evidently expected to be submitted by the Americans shortly,” the paper says. “The aim of a partial handover is above all that Credit Suisse should for the moment avoid an indictment in the US.”
Category: Finance
