BERLIN—German government officials said the country will purchase information on secret Swiss bank accounts held by its citizens if it can do so legally, even if the move puts Berlin on a collision course with Switzerland.
BERLIN—German government officials said the country will purchase information on secret Swiss bank accounts held by its citizens if it can do so legally, even if the move puts Berlin on a collision course with Switzerland.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble told a news conference late Monday that the government was looking for a way to acquire the information—which the government said was offered by an informant in return for €2.5 million ($3.5 million)—without breaching privacy laws or other statutes and hopes to have a resolution soon. The information includes the account details of some 1,500 Germans allegedly hiding money from German tax authorities in Swiss bank accounts, according to people who have been briefed on the matter.
After debating the proposal over the weekend, leading officials in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government decided Berlin should try to buy the data despite the potential legal and diplomatic difficulties that would ensue.
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Germany should do “everything to get this data…if it is relevant,” to fighting tax evasion, Ms. Merkel said at a news conference. Berlin would aim to “smooth relations with the involved countries,” but Germany should “aim to get possession of this data.”
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