Search Results for 'elmer'
Former Cayman banker released from Swiss jail
(Reuters): Former Julius Baer bank manager, Rudolf Elmer, is no longer being held on remand, Swiss newspaper Sonntag reported on Sunday. Elmer, former head of the Cayman Islands office of Switzerland's Julius Baer private bank, last winter handed over two disks that he said contained information on about 2,000 offshore banking clients to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Elmer was detained as Zurich police and prosecutors investigated whether he had violated Swiss banking law by handing the CDs over to Wikileaks, but he later said the disks did not contain any confidential banking data on them.
Sonntag reported that Elmer was allowed to leave the district prison of Winterthur on July 25, but that it was not clear why he had now be allowed to go, or if he will later be charged.
Judge delays decision on teen
(CNS): A teenager who was tried for the attempted murder of a police officer and robbery last month will have to wait until September for verdict on his guilt or innocence as a judge said Friday as he was unable to complete the written judgement as a result of workload. Seventeen year old Elmer Wright is accused of an armed robbery at Mostyns Esso gas station in June last year and attempting to kill a police officer when he fired a shot gun directly at a patrol car as he tried to make his escape. The trial of the teen began in December last year but was halted as a result of a need to address forensic evidence and did not recommence until July.
Justice Smith who was the trial judge sitting alone in the case told the court Friday that he had gone through both the evidence and the submissions and had come to his decision but had not completed putting the reasons down on paper so could not read the verdict. Asking for a social enquiry report however, the judge told the defendant, "Mr Wright, unfortunately, I won't be able to announce your judgement today," as he remanded the teen in custody and revealed he intended to deliver the verdict in September.
Wright was arrested on the night of the robbery at the Bodden Town gas station a short time after the incident and a police chase. The prosecution states that Wright was one of four robbers but he was the one that had attempted to kill a police officer when the high speed chase came to an end in a cul-de-sac. The crown said that the chase ended in the Northward area and Wright along with his three accomplices exited their getaway car. During the trial the court heard a police give evidence that Wright had come out of the getaway vehicle carrying a shotgun which he fired directly at the patrol car as he ran off on foot.
A short time later, he was arrested a few streets away with money from the gas station in his possession and the weapon was found close by. The crown said that Wright’s dna was on the gun and he had tested positive for gunshot residue. It was also revealed that the shot gun recovered by police that the crown says was used in the robbery and later fired at police was stolen from a licensed firearm’s holder.
Teen returns to courtroom after 6 month trial break
(CNS): Seventeen-year-old Elmer Wright returned to the Grand Court dock on Monday when his trial for the attempted murder of a police officer and the robbery of a Bodden Town gas station resumed after a break of more than six months. Problems with DNA evidence meant the trial, which is being heard by Justice Smith, had to be adjourned just a few days after it started. The teen faces six serious charges and is accused of being part of a gang of four masked men that robbed Mostyns Esso gas station in June last year. Wright is also accused of shooting at the police as he attempted to flee. The teenager is the only man police have charged in connection with the robbery, in which the shotgun and the car used in the crime were both stolen. (Photo Dennie WarrenJr)
When the crown opened its case against the teen last year, Cheryl Richards QC, the then solicitor general and now the director of public prosecutions, highlighted eye witness, circumstantial and forensic evidence linking the teenager to the crime.
The crime took place in June 2010 at Mostyns Esso Gas Station in Bodden Town. Wright and three other men are said to have robbed the gas station of around $1,000 with the use of shotguns before escaping towards George Town in a getaway car, which was chased by a passing police patrol unit.
The suspects turned into Northward Road, where they all got out of the car and three of them ran behind a house. The defendant, however, is accused of lingering behind his accomplices, loading the shotgun and, before taking flight, firing at unarmed police in the patrol car which had chased the robbers.
The teen was arrested a short while later by one of the USG units set up in the wake of the robbery on the corner of Beach Bay Road and Shamrock Road. He was found to have several hundred dollars on him and was wearing similar clothes to those described by the robbery victims, which were later found to have gunshot residue on them.
A shotgun was also found very close by to the arrest, which later proved to have Wright’s DNA on it. The crown further revealed that swabs taken from the teen's hands that evening tested positive for gunshot residue.
Whistle-blower remains in jail
(Swissinfo): Ex-banker turned whistle-blower Rudolph Elmer has lost his appeal against a court ruling in Switzerland remanding him in prison over possible breaches of banking secrecy. Elmer was taken into custody by police on 19 January after handing over computer discs to Wikileaks two days earlier. The former Julius Baer banker indicated the CDs contained details of as many as 2,000 offshore bank accounts. "The Court of Appeals of the Canton of Zurich dismissed the appeal of Rudolf Elmer against the decision of the court responsible for Coercive Measures dated January 22, 2001. Mr Rudolf Elmer will therefore remain in custody for the time being," said a statement from Elmer’s law firm.
"Mr Elmer and his defence counsel are currently reassessing the court’s ruling and discussing possible further steps," the firm, Tethong Blattner, said.
In a separate case earlier on January 19, Elmer was convicted of breaching Swiss banking secrecy laws by passing on private client data to the tax authorities and of threatening employees at his former company. He has already appealed that verdict.
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Whistleblower re-arrested over new leaks
(CNS): Following his conviction on Wednesday for breaching Swiss secrecy laws, former banker and employee of Julius Baer, Rudolph Elmer, has been re-arrested on newcharges of breaking the country’s secrecy laws by passing on new material to the WikiLeaks founder, Jullian Assange, in London at a press conference on Monday, 16 January. The whistleblower was arrested hours after being found guilty of breaching another bank secrecy law by a Zurich court and fined over $6,000, as well as being found guilty of threatening an employee at his former bank. Swiss authorities, who have 48 hours to hold him in custody, are expected to question Elmer today in connection with the latest leak.
The documents that Elmer is said to have stolen and then leaked relate to his time as head of operations for the Swiss bank at its subsidiary in the Cayman Islands. Elmer first leaked private bank details about Baer clients to WikiLeaks three years ago. Assange said he will publish the new information within weeks, once it has been checked.
Whistle blower faces trial in Switzerland
(Bloomberg): A former Swiss banker whose actions caused a US judge to shut down WikiLeaks three years ago faces trial for allegedly distributing confidential documents showing how his former employer helped rich clients dodge taxes. Rudolf Elmer, a former employee of Swiss-based Bank JuliusBaer, has been ordered to appear before a Zurich regional court on 19 Jan to answer charges of coercion and violating Switzerland’s strict banking secrecy laws. Elmer said he will admit certain counts but insisted he didn’t break Swiss laws because the files belonged to a Julius Baer subsidiary in the Cayman Islands, where he worked for eight years.
"This data wasn’t subject to Swiss banking secrecy," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday.
If convicted he could be sentenced to up to three years in prison and a fine.
Swiss financial newspaper Cash was among those that in 2005 received a copy of a CD containing 170 megabytes of data on the Julius Baer’s Cayman operations. The files reportedly showed the bank helped its clients set up secret offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes.
Teen tried for armed robbery
(CNS): Seventeen-year-old Elmer Wright faced six serious charges on Tuesday morning when his trial for armed robbery and attempted murder of a police officer opened in theGrand Court. The teen is accused of being part of a gang of four masked men that robbed Mostyns Esso gas station in Bodden Town in June this year. Wright is also accused of shooting at the police as he attempted to flee. The teenager appeared in the dock alone — the only man police have charged in connection with the robbery — as the crown reeled off the evidence against him. Opening the case for the prosecution, Cheryl Richards QC, the solicitor general, said the crown had eye witness, circumstantial and forensic evidence linking the teenager to the crime. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)
(CNS): Seventeen-year-old Elmer Wright faced six serious charges on Tuesday morning when his trial for armed robbery and attempted murder of a police officer opened in the Grand Court. The teen is accused of being part of a gang of four masked men that robbed Mostyns Esso gas station in Bodden Town in June this year. Wright is also accused of shooting at the police as he attempted to flee. The teenager appeared in the dock alone — the only man police have charged in connection with therobbery — as the crown reeled off the evidence against him. Opening the case for the prosecution, Cheryl Richards QC, the solicitor general, said the crown had eye witness, circumstantial and forensic evidence linking the teenager to the crime. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)
Richards listed a catalogue of evidence against the young man, including DNA and gunshot residue linking Wright to the shotgun that was found where he was arrested, used to shoot at the police and in the commission of the robbery. The QC described the night’s events, in which she said the defendant, who was only 16 at the time, along with three other men robbed the gas station of around $1,000 with the use of shotguns before escaping towards George Town in a getaway car, which was chased by a passing police patrol unit.
The robbers turned into Northward Road, where they all got out of the car and three of them ran behind a house. The defendant, however, reportedly lingered behind. He loaded his shotgun and turned and fired at the unarmed police in the patrol car, which had pulled up behind the robbers.
The teen then took flight and was arrested a short while later by one of the USG units set up in the wake of the robbery on the corner of Beach Bay Road and Shamrock Road. He was found to have several hundred dollars on him and was wearing similar clothes to those described by the robbery victims, which were later found to have gunshot residue on them. A shotgun was also found very close by to the arrest, which later proved to have Wright’s DNA on it. The crown also revealed that swabs taken from the teen’s hands that evening tested positive for gunshot residue.
The first witnesses called by the crown to support its case were the two members of staff on duty at the gas station that night during the robbery. Describing the ordeal when three of the robbers carrying shotguns burst into the store, the cashier said she was very frightened.
“I was really scared as the gun was pointed on me,” the witness said. The cashier explained that there were several customers in the store at the time and the robbers told everyone to get down, hitting one in the face with the butt of his rifle. She said one robber told her to give him the money and she said she pressed the panic button as he opened the register, in which she said there was around $1,000. The robber then said, “Where’s the rest of the money?” but seconds later one of the other robbers spotted the police patrol car outside and shouted, “Police, police!” and all three men fled.
The witness gave a description of the men, what they were wearing and said they all spoke with Caymanian accents.
Meanwhile, the gas attend outside by the pumps told how the fourth robber had pointed the gun at him outside the store but said he had managed to crouch down behind a car outside the gas station and flag down the passing police patrol car and indicate he needed help.
Officer Christopher Samuels described how he and Officer Wendy Parchment were patrolling when they saw the gas attendant flagging them down at the station.
The officer explained how, as they pulled on to the forecourt, they soon realised a robbery was going on and that they called 911 and alerted other units, as the robbers came out of the store and got in the getaway car. Samuels said he then pursued the car in the direction of George Town using the sirens and blue lights. He described the high speed chase, dodging and weaving traffic, until the robbers turned into Northward Road and parked on a lot in front of a house. There they abandoned the car and ran down the right hand side of the property, all except one, who turned to face the police vehicle.
Samuels said he did not realise what the man was doing until he raised the shotgun and fired it at him. For a second or two the officer believed he had been hit. “I was fearful. I thought I was shot and started to pat myself down tosee where I was shot, expecting to find blood,” he recalled. The officer said he was able to compose himself and put the car in reverse to pull away from the danger area.
The judge alone trial before Justice Smith continues tomorrow in Grand Court One and is expected to last five days.
Whistleblower says he has files that show tax dodging
(Reuters): A former private banker at Julius Baer who alleges the Swiss bank knowingly helped rich clients dodge taxes, said on Monday that US clients have long paid a premium for Swiss firms’ tax advantages. Rudolf Elmer, who told his story in public for the first time, was fired from Julius Baer in 2002. He says he has divulged internal company documents with officials in several countries, including the United States and Germany. As a former chief operating officer for Julius Baer in the Cayman Islands, Elmer says he has files that show the bank helped clients skirt taxes.
Cayman whistleblower to face offshore conference
(CNS): Former offshore private banker, and more recent whistleblower Rudolf Elmer has said he will ‘tell-all’ about his experiences at Bank Julius Baer and subsequent whistle-blowing in an appearance at this year’s OffshoreAlert conference in May. Organisers of the conference said that Elmer has agreed to talk openly and frankly about what he believes is the bank’s complicity in global tax evasion by its clients and go into the reasons that made him offer client-records to the world’s tax authorities.
"Whistle-blowing should not be a money-making business but, today, it has to be because a whistleblower will not find another reasonable job after having told the truth to society," Elmer told OffshoreAlert. "Society turns the whistleblower into an outlaw and leaves him or her with little choice in terms of providing for himself or herself financially."
For 16 years, Elmer worked for Bank Julius Baer, first in Switzerland, where he was a Senior Auditor from 1987 to 1994, and then in the Cayman Islands, where he was the group’s local Chief Operating Officer from 1994 to 2003. Now living in his native Switzerland, Elmer describes offshore tax evasion as "the biggest theft among societies and neighbour states in this world".
He added: "If I had not worked in eight well-known Offshore Financial Centers and finally in Africa, I would not have discovered the biggest predatory theft in history of humanity and its catastrophic consequences for the poorest people of the earth.
"The people of this world demand fair play in sport, why do they not demand this also from the financial institutions and multi-national conglomerates which maintain dubious companies in OFCs simply to evade or avoid paying their fair share of taxes in their homeland?"
Elmer denies that he is anti-offshore and says that OFCs can have a prosperous future but only if they change their business model, concentrating more on "excellence in professional performance" and less on "secrecy".
"As more and more practitioners are realizing, bank secrecy belongs in the past," he said. "Banks have to decide where privacy ends and social responsibility starts." Offering products and services that appeal to those with a lack of ethics or morals was not the way forward for OFCs, he said.
Whistleblowing is one of the main themes of the 8th Annual OffshoreAlert Financial Due Diligence Conference, which will take place at The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach in Florida on May 2-4, 2010. Apart from Elmer, Allen Stanford-whistleblower Charles Rawl will also be speaking, as will Washington, DC-based attorney Jack Blum, who represents Elmer and LGT Bank-whistleblower Heinrich Kieber, and Eric Havian, an attorney with California-based law firm Phillips & Cohen, which specializes in whistleblower cases.
Full details about the conference can be found at www.OffshoreAlertConference.com
Whistle blower plans to reveal more offshore secrets
(CNS): Rudolf Elmer, who ran the Caribbean operations of the Swiss bank Julius Baer for eight years until he was dismissed in 2002, is planning to reveal more secrets regarding tax evasion. According to The New York Times, the whistle blower is heading for Germany, where authorities are putting him up in a five-star hotel as he prepares to divulge client secrets, many of which involve the Cayman Islands where he was based. “It is a global problem, and I am only the messenger who provides the bad news, or even better, the truth,” Elmer, 54, wrote in a recent e-mail message.
“Offshore tax evasion is the biggest theft among societies and neighbour states in this world,” he added.
Lawyers and Congressional investigators who have begun to review Elmer’s claims say that his internal bank and client documents provide fresh ammunition for American authorities as they take their crackdown on offshore tax evasion beyond UBS to clients of other banks.
Elmer has given documents to the IRS that cover more than 100 trusts, dozens of companies and hedge funds, and more than 1,300 individuals from 1997 through 2002. Elmer contends that his documents detail the undisclosed role of American investment management companies in funnelling American, European and South American clients who wished to avoid taxes to Julius Baer; the backdating of documents to establish trusts and foundations used to evade taxes; and the funnelling of trades for hedge funds and private equity firms from high-tax jurisdictions through Baer entities in the Cayman Islands.
“What he has is the confirmation of something very important: that a number of other banks in the voluntary disclosure process are turning up,” his lawyer Jack Blum said, referring to 14,700 wealthy Americans, many of them UBS clients who came forward to disclose their secret accounts last year.
Nothing indicates that Julius Baer, a 120-year-old private bank, is under IRS investigation. The bank is known for intense privacy. Its board chairman, Raymond J. Baer, told shareholders last April that “the fiction of citizens being fully transparent must never become reality.”
Elmer worked for Julius Baer nearly two decades, the first 15 years in Switzerland and then as chief operating officer of Julius Baer Bank and Trust in Grand Cayman, beginning in 1994. As far as his own role in helping clients evade taxes, he said, “I didn’t realize what was going on.” Elmer said he discovered the tax evasion in 2002 and decided to expose Julius Baer’s operations.
Julius Baer denies that version of events. It contends that Elmer stole internal documents and client data around 2002, the year he was dismissed, after raising concerns about the bank in the wake of being passed over for a promotion. He moved to Mauritius a year later. “Shortly after leaving the employment of the Julius Baer Group in 2002, Cayman-based Elmer, clearly annoyed at having been dismissed and unable to secure a financial settlement to his satisfaction, engaged in a campaign to seek to discredit the Julius Baer group and certain of its clients,” the bank wrote by e-mail in December.