tagged: banking secresy, Greece, Greek MPs, Greek Parliament, names of account holders, request, Swiss Banking secrecy, Swiss banks, turn down

Swiss Banks Turn Down Greek Parliament Request to Open Bank Accounts of MPs

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Economy, Politics

Bankers in Switzerland are not willing to cooperate with the Greek authorities asking the opening of potential bank accounts of members of the Parliament. According to Proto Thema, bankers in Switzerland cited the famous Swiss ”banking secrecy”.

Before the elections in June, former parliament speaker Philippos Petsalnikos had asked all MPs to authorize per individual/personal  the Bank of Greece and the Association of Greek banks to request information from the Swiss authorities for possible “undeclared” bank accounts.  

Every MP signed a statement authorizing the Greek authorities to investigate whether MPs had bank accounts in Switzerland but had not declared the amounts in their tax declaration. 

However when Greeks turned to the Swiss, the answer of the later was clear: “Swiss laws concerning the banking secrecy do not allow them to provide such details. If a Greek MP wants to do it s/he would do it on private initiative.”

The authorization wasn’t worth the ink MPs used for the signature…

Private Mega TV reported during it’s Two-O’-Clock-News that the answer by the Swiss banks had reached the Greek Parliament per e-mail in April and per letter in July. “Why the issue becomes public now?” asked the reporter.

I would also ask: Didn’t they know they wouldn’t get such information?

Greece struggles for a bilateral agreement with Switzerland in order to tax assets of Greek bank account holders. But violating the banking secrecy? That could ruin the country of chocolates, the Alps and the many many happy bankers…