German state collects Swiss data to trace tax frauds

The authorities of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia bought a CD from Switzerland with the bank details of wealthy Germans as pa
rt of a drive to identify fraudsters, the Financial Times Germany in its online edition on Saturday.

The CD contains the names and bank details of around 1,000 Germans rich, who are the customers of the Zurich branch of Coutts, the private banking arm of Royal Bank of Scotland better as banker to the Queen Elizabeth is known, said newspaper said, citing insiders Information.

Presumably, these customers have avoided paying a tax amount, the newspaper said.

"We are aware of the speculation continues to the media about a possible breach of the confidentiality of customer data in Coutts," a spokesman for Coutts said.

"After careful consideration, we have no evidence as a violation to have occurred," she added.

The Ministry of Finance State has neither confirmed nor denied that it had bought the CD. "We have no indication that this is correct," said Mario Tuor, spokesman for the unit of the Swiss government to negotiate the tax dispute.

The origin of the CD was not clear, but in 2010 several German states, including North Rhine-Westphalia said they bought CDs containing data of Swiss banking whistleblower to identify tax evaders in Germany. This has led thousands of Germans to declare their financial assets or risk imprisonment.

North Rhine-Westphalia has paid $ 3.5 million for the CD, according to the FTD, in a step to heat up even further, threatening the already tense relations between the two countries on tax matters.

Germany reached an agreement with Switzerland to rise in September last year to taxes on German assets in Swiss bank accounts, which entered into force next year, subject to the approval of the German Bundestag. Under the agreement, Germany will no longer be allowed to buy CDs with control data.

"We can not accept the contract from the tax on the company with Switzerland, as it is, without the consent of the governed states of Social Democrats and Greens can not he come into force," said Norbert Walter Borjans, finance minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, which is led by the Social Democrats.

"It makes sense that we do not act as if the agreement does already applied," he told Reuters.

German tax authorities raided Credit Suisse clients and the French authorities searched the homes of employees of UBS this week, deepening the crackdown on foreigners who hide money in offshore accounts, Swiss tax evasion.

Borjans Walter said that the raids have shown that it was necessary to obtain information,