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WIKILEAKS GIVEN DATA ON SWISS BANK ACCOUNTS
AZG DAILY
20-01-2011
A former Swiss banker has passed on data containing account details
of 2,000 prominent people to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
The data - which is not yet available on the Wikileaks website - was
held on two discs handed over by Rudolf Elmer at a press conference
in London.
Mr Assange promised full disclosure once the information had been
vetted, BBC reported.
Mr Elmer is scheduled to go on trial in Switzerland on Wednesday for
breaking bank secrecy laws.
The banker, who has given data to Wikileaks before, was fired from
Swiss bank Julius Baer in 2002.
Although it was not confirmed what activities might be covered by the
data Mr Elmer has passed on, the Wikileaks head noted that previous
data from Julius Baer provided by Mr Elmer had shed light on tax
evasion, the hiding of proceeds of criminal acts and "the protection
of assets of those about to fall out of political favour".
The data covers multinationals, financial firms and wealthy individuals
from many countries, including the UK, US and Germany, and covers the
period 1990-2009, according to a report in Swiss newspaper Der Sonntag.
"Once we have looked at the data... there will be full revelation,"
said Mr Assange, who is currently on bail and confined to the UK due
to an extradition request from Sweden.
The Wikileaks founder has been accused of sexual misconduct by two
women in Sweden, including having unprotected sex without consent -
accusations he denies.
Speaking at the handover event at the Frontline Club, he said the
data would be vetted before publication.
It was difficult to say how long this would take, he said, although
he suggested it could be as little as two weeks.
The vetting would depend on the volume of information and how it was
delegated, Mr Assange said.
Other groups - such as the Tax Justice Network or financial media
outlets - might be asked to help in the vetting process, he added.
Mr Assange also said some information was likely to be handed over
to the authorities - mentioning specifically the UK's Serious Fraud
Office - as was the case with a previous leak concerning Icelandic
banks, the source reported.
From: A. Papazian
AZG DAILY
20-01-2011
A former Swiss banker has passed on data containing account details
of 2,000 prominent people to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
The data - which is not yet available on the Wikileaks website - was
held on two discs handed over by Rudolf Elmer at a press conference
in London.
Mr Assange promised full disclosure once the information had been
vetted, BBC reported.
Mr Elmer is scheduled to go on trial in Switzerland on Wednesday for
breaking bank secrecy laws.
The banker, who has given data to Wikileaks before, was fired from
Swiss bank Julius Baer in 2002.
Although it was not confirmed what activities might be covered by the
data Mr Elmer has passed on, the Wikileaks head noted that previous
data from Julius Baer provided by Mr Elmer had shed light on tax
evasion, the hiding of proceeds of criminal acts and "the protection
of assets of those about to fall out of political favour".
The data covers multinationals, financial firms and wealthy individuals
from many countries, including the UK, US and Germany, and covers the
period 1990-2009, according to a report in Swiss newspaper Der Sonntag.
"Once we have looked at the data... there will be full revelation,"
said Mr Assange, who is currently on bail and confined to the UK due
to an extradition request from Sweden.
The Wikileaks founder has been accused of sexual misconduct by two
women in Sweden, including having unprotected sex without consent -
accusations he denies.
Speaking at the handover event at the Frontline Club, he said the
data would be vetted before publication.
It was difficult to say how long this would take, he said, although
he suggested it could be as little as two weeks.
The vetting would depend on the volume of information and how it was
delegated, Mr Assange said.
Other groups - such as the Tax Justice Network or financial media
outlets - might be asked to help in the vetting process, he added.
Mr Assange also said some information was likely to be handed over
to the authorities - mentioning specifically the UK's Serious Fraud
Office - as was the case with a previous leak concerning Icelandic
banks, the source reported.
From: A. Papazian