Swiss banker Rudolf Elmer, who claims to have given WikiLeaks information about rich people who avoid paying taxes, is going before a court in Zurich, and he is accused of forced violation of strict domestic laws on the secrecy of banking operations, the Associated Press (AP) agency reports, Beta reports. According to the prosecutors, Elmer stole information about the clients of the Julius Baer bank, where he was previously fired, and then tried to extort money from it and its executives. illegally disclosed information about the offshore clients of Julius Baer Bank to the tax authorities and the media. While the bank claims that it is the victim of revenge by a disgruntled former employee, Elmer says that his intention was to expose a widespread system of tax evasion used by wealthy businessmen and politicians. Elmer is was in exile in Mauritius, and three days ago he told the Observer newspaper that two days before the trial, that is, on January 17, he would hand over to WikiLeaks details of the offshore bank accounts of 2.000 individuals and top-ranking companies. Elmer also announced in the Observer that there will also be information on "about forty politicians", people who make a living from art and multinational conglomerates from both sides of the Atlantic. "I also worked for other banks, and one thing is absolutely clear to me - what the banks know, and the big fish know too - that money is kept secret in order to avoid paying taxes and other things such as money laundering". Bank Julijus Baer however claims that Elmer "altered" documents to create a "twisted state of facts" with the aim of discrediting the powerful bank and its clients in the public eye.
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