Swiss
authorities will meet some of Washington's demands to transmit information on
accounts held by US citizens in the country, local media reported on Tuesday.
The United States has asked for detailed information on US nationals who have hidden their money in Switzerland |
According
to Swiss daily TagesAnzeiger, state secretary for international affairs Michael
Ambuehl will transmit by Tuesday evening information on the number of accounts
and the total sum held by US citizens in Switzerland.
The Swiss
Financial Market Supervisory Authority surveyed a number of Swiss banks and
determined that between 20 billion to 30 billion dollars (14.2-21.3 billion
euros) was held by "tens of thousands" of US customers, the newspaper
said.
According
to the weekly SonntagsZeitung, the United States has asked for detailed
information on US nationals who have hidden their money in Switzerland, basing
its report on a letter from the US deputy attorney general James Cole dated
August 31, addressed to Swiss authorities.
The letter
mentioned Switzerland's second-biggest bank, Credit Suisse, as well as about
another 10 banks, notably Julius Baer, Wegelin, and the cantonal banks of
Zurich and Basel, the Sunday paper alleged.
US
authorities want all the data concerning private customers and US foundations
which have deposited at least $50,000 (around 35,000 euros) in Switzerland
between the period of 2002 and July 2010, it said.
Swiss
finance minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said on Monday on Swiss television
that she disagreed with the ultimatum.
"This
is not how to deal with other states," she said.
"We
have suggested to the Americans how to solve (...) the problem," she said,
explaining that a solution would have to be based on existing fiscal agreements
between the US and Switzerland, or on recent agreements with Germany and the
United Kingdom.
This latest
request is not the first by US officials. Switzerland's biggest bank UBS was
forced to disclose the names of 4,450 US clients for whom it had offered to
conceal funds from the eyes of the US tax inspectors.
Widmer-Schlumpf
added the use of emergency laws, as was the case for the UBS affaire, was
excluded.
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