Menu

Swiss Banks Tax Wealthy Clients to Facilitate Tax-Evasion

May 4th, 2010

Swiss banking giants have–for a long time–charged wealthy clients a pretty penny to knowingly facilitate offshore tax-evasion, according to former offshore banker Rudolf Elmer.  The Julius Baer executive-turned-whistleblower, speaking at an offshore financial conference in Miami yesterday, told the audience that he has files detailing the banks culpability.  According to Kim Dixon at Reuters:

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.

“If you look at the cost you pay for Swiss banking, it’s tremendous,” Elmer told an audience of bankers and others at an offshore financial conference in Miami. “What do you get out of it? Tax advantage. It’s that simple.”

The bank, of course, denies Mr. Elmer’s allegations, but Julius Baer’s credibility is hardly in tact following the track record of Swiss banks.

Written by Clark Gascoigne

Follow @FinTrCo