Hans-Rudolf Merz
Update 18:00 Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – France says it did not break any French laws in accepting stolen data from a Swiss branch of HSBC, and right-wing politicians in Paris called for Switzerland to be put onto an OECD black list of tax havens if the Swiss refuse to ratify a pending treaty with France over the theft. Switzerland says that France, in failing to provide judicial assistance in the matter, is not respecting the terms or spirit of the treaty.
The Swiss government late Wednesday 16 December said it intends to suspend the ratification of the new double taxation treaty with France. The news followed comments to the media by France’s budget minister, Eric Woerth, that he plans to start judicial proceedings based on information stolen from the Geneva branch of HSBC.
Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz says that he is asking the Swiss commission in charge of the ratification process, scheduled to meet in February, to hold off until the circumstances surrounding the theft, which took place in Switzerland, are clearer. The French citizen who stole the data has come forward publicly, and he is now being given a new identity in the south of France.
At issue for the Swiss: France has not responded to Switzrland’s repeated requests for judicial assistance, and no information has been provided about the stolen data. The theft, which started in July 2008 by an IT employee at the bank, is illegal under Swiss law. “In a state of law, this type of theft is unacceptable,” Merz told media Wednesday.
