A load of UBS client data mysteriously found its way to a French media outlet. This time, the Swiss bank averted a potential disaster.
French investigative outlet probably thought they had hit paydirt with the next «Swiss Leaks» when two men dropped a moving box full of documents on their doorstep. The contents? More than 4,000 pages of account statements and other documents from French clients with hidden Swiss bank accounts at UBS, Julius Baer and Bank Hottinger, Swiss newspaper «Le Temps» reported (see image below).
A meticulous review of the documents showed that some of the correspondence was as recent as 2012, and related to more than 1.6 billion Swiss francs in undeclared money. French business titans, politicians and high-profile bankers were among those mentioned in the 1,346 accounts.
(Image: «Le Temps»)
Tax Swindle
After the «Falciani Papers» and claims by French whistleblower Stephanie Gibaud of secret records, UBS seemed poised for the next scandal. The Swiss bank has been grappling with French authorities for years over allegedly helping the country's wealth to cheat on their taxes with hidden offshore accounts. UBS was forced to pay a 1.1 billion euro deposit earlier this year; according to media reports, it could face a fine of as much as 6 billion euros to settle the charges.
Mediapart, the investigative portal, began verifying the data trove, only to come to a surprising conclusion: the documents had been falsified. The person or people behind the faked data also attempted to swindle French tax authorities, which came to the same conclusion as Mediapart – the data was doctored.
Swiss Spy?
Since then, France has been speculating wildly about the source of «Fake Papers.» Some in France point to Switzerland, which has had a testy relationship with its larger neighbor in recent years, largely due to inheritance tax and offshore account issues.
The claim may not be entirely baseless: a German court recently sentenced a former UBS banker to a nearly two-year suspended sentence for spying on German tax officials. He named his Swiss spy handlers in court, but claimed his motivation was «patriotism, love of adventure, profit-seeking and indignation.»
