Franco-Swiss agreement on stolen names at HSBC

There France and Switzerland are moving forward towards a solution in their conflict over banking secrecy. The French Ministers for the Economy and the Budget, together with the President of the Confederation, met in Davos.

Bank documents were stolen by former HSBC computer expert Hervé Falciani. According to Eric Woerth, the French Budget Minister, they contained.., 3000 French customer names, and several thousand others of different nationalities.

There France undertakes not to use the names of these lists. It has handed the documents over to Switzerland. These lists will not be used by France or other countries. Paris has assured Bern that’it would not supply these data to other States.

This resolves the conflict in which Switzerland was involved last December. frozen the double taxation agreement with France. This agreement abolishes the distinction between tax fraud and tax evasion, and makes it possible to lift banking secrecy. Visit work of the federal parliament on the new tax treaty can therefore resume. The agreement will not be signed before March.