Switzerland is poised to give in to global pressure to assist foreign tax probes involving stolen bank data. However, proposed law changes would still outlaw administrative assistance to countries that directly buy information from whistleblowers.
This significant policy shift was put to consultation on Wednesday and would still have to face parliamentary scrutiny before being put into force – most likely not before the start of 2017.
Until now Swiss lawmakers have staunchly opposed stolen data being used as the basis of administrative assistance for tax evasion probes being carried out by other countries. A similar government proposal in 2013 was shot down during the consultation phase.
In recent years, the Swiss financial centre has been rocked by a spate of data thefts, most notably by Hervé Falciani. The former HSBC Geneva employee sold sensitive client information to the French authorities and is due to face trial in Switzerland in October for breaching Swiss banking secrecy laws.