WikiLeaks to expose tax dodging by 'pillars of society'

Boy Wonder · Jan 17, 2011

Assange is at it again~

LONDON â€” The details of thousands of rich bank clients who have used offshore accounts to avoid paying their share of tax are likely to be exposed by the website WikiLeaks.

Rudolf Elmer, a former Swiss bank employee, handed over two CDs containing the information to Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, in London on Monday.

The discs are understood to include the details of 2,000 rich individuals and corporations, including 40 politicians and some celebrities.

Elmer declined to give any information about the "high net worth" individuals and companies on the discs, although he said that those named were from all over the world including Britain, the US, Germany, Austria and Asia.

He has previously said they include "business people, politicians, people who have made their living in the arts and multinational conglomerates".

He has also described them as "well-known pillars of society" whose "investment portfolios may include houses, trading companies, artwork, yachts, jewellery, horses, and so on".

Elmer, a former executive at Julius Baer Bank, one of Switzerlandâ€™s leading private banks, said he was releasing the information to educate society.

"I do think, as a banker, I have the right to stand up if something is wrong," he said. "I know how the system works and I know the day-to-day business. From that point of view, I wanted to let society know what I know. It is damaging our society."

Assange, whose whistle-blowing website is still working through a leaked cache of 252,000 American diplomatic cables, praised the ex-bankerâ€™s attempts to expose alleged shady practices in the financial industry.

Assange, who is fighting extradition to Sweden where he faces allegations of sexual offences, said the names could be published on the WikiLeaks website in two weeks, once they have been verified.
In his first public appearance since he was given bail last month, Assange told a news conference: "I have read some of Elmerâ€™s writings.

"He is clearly a bona fide whistleblower and therefore I feel that we have some duty to support him on that matter."

Assange said the time it would take to release the documents online depended on how much information was provided by Elmer. He said: "We will treat this information like all other information we get, so yes, I presume, once we have looked at the data, there will be a full revelation.
"If we can delegate the matter appropriately, it could be a couple of weeks, if not it will take longer."

Elmer is due to appear before a Zurich regional court later this week to answer charges of coercion and violating Switzerlandâ€™s strict banking secrecy laws.

He was dismissed from Julius Baer Bank in 2002 after eight years as chief operating officer of Julius Baer Bank and Trust Company in the Cayman Islands.

The bank claims he launched an "intimidation campaign and vendetta" against it and spread "baseless" rumours. Assange said WikiLeaks could hand some of the information from Elmer to the Serious Fraud Office in London.

So far, WikiLeaks has released 2.3 per cent of the 252,000 American government cables. Assange said the website was not yet open for receiving more unsolicited data leaks.

He said: "We are not open yet for public business. The volume of material that we would receive is too high for our internal mechanisms, but we are receiving in other ways, like this, in this manner."
WikiLeaks published data about the same bank in 2008, which resulted in its lawyers seeking an injunction to have wikileaks.org "seized and destroyed".
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SOURCE

P · Jan 17, 2011

2.3% of all cables?

He needs to get that pile up there, before he's taken out of action. It's only a matter of time before someone assassinates him.

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WikiLeaks to expose tax dodging by 'pillars of society'

Boy Wonder Dark Phoenix in Training

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P Banned