Switzerland’s data protection watchdog has told the country’s banks to stop handing over transaction information to the US tax authorities after fears that the shared records contained the names of client advisors and other bank employees.
Speaking to the country’s German-language newspaper, Tages Anzeiger, data commissioner Hanspeter Thür said that he had written to several banks to find out what data had already been transferred to the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
“We have informed them that we are opening an analysis to verify the legality of the data transmitted to the US,” Thür told the paper, according to an automated translation. “Until we have the results we have demanded that no further bank employee data be sent to the US, unless against an employee in a criminal case.”
The Swiss Government authorised some banks to transfer records in April after the US threatened to open criminal proceedings against them, according to news website SwissInfo. That data was supposed to have been encoded to protect the identity of individuals working for the banks, who have said that they are now at risk of criminal prosecution in the US for aiding and abetting tax evasion.
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