DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – Switzerland and France settled a row over stolen bank records on Wednesday that was blocking a treaty aimed at helping Paris catch tax cheats.
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – Switzerland and France settled a row over stolen bank records on Wednesday that was blocking a treaty aimed at helping Paris catch tax cheats.
Switzerland said in December it would freeze the tax treaty talks after French authorities obtained tax-sensitive client information from a former HSBC (HSBA.L) employee, which it said helped identify 3,000 suspected French tax evaders.
“We have found an agreement,” Swiss Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz said after talks with French Budget Minister Eric Woerth on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum meeting.
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“France has agreed not to use stolen data when asking for (tax) information,” he said during a visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, an outspoken critic of tax havens, to address the Davos conference.
A French official said Paris would continue to use the HSBC data in prosecuting tax offenders, but confirmed it would not use the records to seek information on account holders from Switzerland under the agreement.
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