swiss tax spy ready to confess in german trial
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Swiss 'tax spy' ready to confess in German trial

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Swiss 'tax spy' ready to confess in German trial

Switzerland had been seeking the identities of three German tax officers, hoping to build a case against them.
Frankfurt am Main - Arab Today

A Swiss man accused of spying on German officials who were hunting tax cheats signalled at the opening of his trial in Frankfurt Wednesday that he was ready to confess.

Daniel Moser, 54, was arrested in the German business capital in April on espionage charges after he compiled information on officials tasked by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with ferreting out stashes of wealth hidden at Swiss banks.

Switzerland had been seeking the identities of three German tax officers, hoping to build a case against them for illegally obtaining banking data -- which are protected under the country's strict secrecy laws.

Swiss banks had come under intense pressure in recent years as several German states started buying CDs or USB memory sticks allegedly containing data on German taxpayers who had parked their fortunes across the border.

Fearing prosecution, many of Germany's rich and famous subsequently came forward to declare their hidden wealth, boosting the tax coffers of Europe's biggest economy by billions of euros.

German investigators say Moser was in the employ of Bern's spymasters by July 2011 at the latest.

Along with an associate working for a security firm in Frankfurt, he allegedly collected birthdates, telephone numbers and private addresses of German tax officials.

Prosecutors also believe he placed a mole, whose identity remains unknown, in the tax office.

Hours after the trial began, the case appeared to be heading for a quick settlement.

The defendant's lawyer Robert Kain told the court his client was ready to confess and would issue a written statement next Thursday, the next hearing date.

Denying that a mole was placed in the tax office, Kain said that "there is no source".

If the confession proves to be "credible and comprehensible", judge Josef Bill said, the case could close with Moser receiving a suspended sentence of up to two years and a fine of around 50,000 euros.

- Big risks, at what gain? -

The spying claims sparked outrage in Germany, with Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel rebuking Switzerland over the scandal and summoning Bern's envoy for clarification.

The case was especially embarrassing for Switzerland, which in 2015 had signed a deal with the European Union to exchange bank data starting in 2018 as part of an international pledge to clamp down on tax cheats.

Amid the uproar, German and Swiss media reported that the accused's operation had unravelled by chance, possibly because he had walked into a trap set by Werner Mauss, a former top spy dubbed Germany's James Bond.

Moser, a former policeman and a high-ranking security officer at Swiss banking giant UBS, reportedly passed on a CD containing banking data to a German contact -- who had in fact been working for Mauss.

The data turned out to be erroneous, but Mauss reported the exchange to UBS, which in turn passed it on to Swiss authorities who arrested Moser in February 2015 for breaching banking secrecy.

It remains unclear who Mauss was working for in that case, and what motivated him to target Moser.

During the investigation, Moser apparently told Swiss investigators that he had been working for Bern to spy on German authorities.

But a copy of a summary of the interrogation ended up in the hands of German authorities through Mauss, leading eventually to Moser's arrest in Frankfurt..

German prosecutors say he was paid 3,000 euros ($3,500) a month over half a year by his Swiss handlers.

He also received 13,000 euros for the personal details of tax officials, of which he gave 10,000 euros to his associate.

Separately, for the mission to place a mole in the tax office, Moser was promised 90,000 euros.

He received 60,000 euros of the sum but passed on most of it to unknown individuals, according to German prosecutors.

He risks up to five years in jail.

Source: AFP

 

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

swiss tax spy ready to confess in german trial swiss tax spy ready to confess in german trial

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

swiss tax spy ready to confess in german trial swiss tax spy ready to confess in german trial

 



GMT 16:16 2014 Wednesday ,10 September

Samirah Ibrahim receives Saudi cultural attaché

GMT 09:32 2017 Sunday ,24 September

China confirms will limit oil exports to North Korea

GMT 19:56 2016 Saturday ,17 September

Typhoon Meranti death toll rises to 28

GMT 09:40 2018 Monday ,01 January

OIC Summit opens in Kazakhstan

GMT 06:37 2015 Monday ,07 December

Iran film directors protest colleague's jail term

GMT 18:37 2017 Friday ,25 August

Mental health issues should be prioritized

GMT 04:39 2017 Thursday ,31 August

Trump vows to right 'self-destructive' tax code

GMT 05:29 2017 Tuesday ,22 August

Celebrations across India on 71st Independence Day

GMT 10:54 2017 Wednesday ,11 October

Child obesity grows tenfold since 1975

GMT 02:31 2016 Tuesday ,06 December

Dubai Women Establishment delegation participates

GMT 04:29 2018 Wednesday ,19 September

North and South Korea: Kim and Moon hail new future

GMT 14:18 2013 Monday ,19 August

Newlywed Lebanese couple pose at car bomb site

GMT 11:11 2011 Friday ,12 August

Palestinian university ranks seventh in Arab world

GMT 15:16 2015 Wednesday ,26 August

UAE ambassador attends charity ceremony in Qalubiya

GMT 16:59 2016 Tuesday ,26 July

Hedge funds in new cycle of oil short-selling
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday