After Italian raids in October 2009 on branches of Swiss banks, the German authorities yesterday launched a huge operation against German branches of the Credit Suisse. Over 150 investigators took part in coordinated raids on 13 branches of the second largest Swiss bank in connection with an inquiry into tax fraud.
In a controversial move in February, Germany bought stolen data on bank customers containing information about over a thousand of their wealthy citizens. Investigators estimated that the information related to about 1.2bn euros of undeclared income. Investigations started into the individuals but now the authorities are also focusing on allegations that bank staff assisted and encouraged customers to evade taxes by using hidden accounts.
This move is the latest in a series of actions undertaken by governments in the USA and across Europe to target tax evasion; it is also being reported that the biggest Swiss banking group,UBS, is being examined by the German financial market watchdog.
