Julius Baer Whistleblower To Expose 2,000 High Net Worth Tax Evaders To The World

[Joanne98]

Two years ago when the US bailed out UBS and Switzerland from a brief but potentially terminal liquidity crisis, it succeeded in extracting a historic pound of flesh: it forced UBS to declassify thousands of bank accounts of US tax evaders which was the first nail in the centuries-old concept of Swiss bank secrecy. Today, Rudolf Elmer, a former COO of one of the biggest Swiss banks, Julius Baer, may have just nailed the last, and with that set off a chain reaction that will force a huge outcry against pervasive global tax fraud (but likely achieve nothing ultimatel). According to the Guardian, tomorrow Elmer will hand over details of 2,000 "high net worth individuals and corporations" to WikiLeaks which will make him "the most important and boldest whistleblower in Swiss banking history." And since among those exposed will be "approximately 40 politicians" expect all hell to break loose as photos of Assange having a underage orgy with Al Qaeda members are suddenly made public to diffuse what is bound to be another huge (if brief - after all human kind cannot bear very much reality).

From the Guardian:

British and American individuals and companies are among the offshore clients whose details will be contained on CDs presented to WikiLeaks at the Frontline Club in London. Those involved include, Elmer tells the Observer, "approximately 40 politicians".

Elmer, who after his press conference will return to Switzerland from exile in Mauritius to face trial, is a former chief operating officer in the Cayman Islands and employee of the powerful Julius Baer bank, which accuses him of stealing the information.

He is also – at a time when the activities of banks are a matter of public concern – one of a small band of employees and executives seeking to blow the whistle on what they see as unprofessional, immoral and even potentially criminal activity by powerful international financial institutions.

This is interesting: after all it was Zero Hedge that about 18 months ago suggested that all financial professionals should be very concerned: after all, all it takes is one sloppy firing, or one departure without the appropriate non-disparagement and non-truth telling clause, and all hell could break loose as those who were part of the inner sanctum suddenly find themselves on the outside... and wanting revenge. Elmer is just first of many. In the meantime, we hope that every single hedge fund, starting with that particular one in Stamford and going all the way down, has made plans regarding termination of its employees. All it takes is one person who believes they may have been wrongfully terminated to approach the SEC themselves, or, even worse, some blog or alleged terrorist organization with a penchant for disclosing the truth...

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/julius-baer-whistleblower-expose-2000-high-net-worth-tax-evaders-world

[xchrom]

1. recommend -- so far no names to be released as i understand it --

can't WAIT for those to get out.

includes U.S. politicians.

[Cirque du So-What]

2. Why in pluperfect hell would Elmer want to publicize the handoff of that CD?

Doesn't he realize the extent to which some of the people named in that list would go to keep that information under wraps? Is he hoping to be bought off at the last minute? More likely, some on that list are plotting his violent demise.

Doesn't Assange already have names with Swiss bank accounts that have been named? Why are THOSE names still being withheld? What good does having those names do anyone (with the possible exception of Assange) unless they're shown to the world and the wheels of justice begin turning?

Sorry for all the questions, but nothing in the way of answers seems to be forthcoming, so they're probably just rhetorical anyhoo.

[MinneapolisMatt]

3. My guess...

...is that he's already given all the information to Assange, and this is a "hi ya'll, if anything happens to me, they're gonna check the list first" sort of a message.

Or at least one would hope.