Julius Baer has confirmed it has been hit by
another client data theft involving the accounts of suspected
German tax evaders.
According to Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung,
the suspect, who allegedly acted alone and was subsequently
arrested, is a former bank employee currently employed in
Zurich.
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The newspaper added that suspect had sold the
data for an undisclosed fee to German tax investigators in the
German state of North Rhine Westphalia.
In 2011, German authorities launched a
concerted effort to gain the details of German residents and in
some instances pay bankers to acquire sensitive client
information.
CEO response
Julius Baer CEO Boris Collardi told
SonntagsZeitung that the data pertained to clients who had been
using bank secrecy to avoid paying taxes in Germany.
“According to what we know, this is the case,”
he said.
He added: “As part of our stepped-up controls
and a thorough internal investigation we recently discovered a case
of data misuse and were able to identify the alleged thief.”
Settling the feud
The theft is the latest in a line of incidents
that have seen tensions rise between Switzerland and Germany.
On a number of occasions, German tax officials
have purchased stolen data regarding German clients suspected of
tax evasion.
The two countries have made a deal to end the
dispute and impose a retroactive levy on declared funds while
maintaining secrecy.
Last year Julius Baer agreed to pay German tax
authorities €50m ($62.6m) to end investigations against the bank,
and employees, regarding undeclared assets of German taxpayers.
