Finland asking Germany for information on tax dodgers

Finnish names to be searched for in Liechtenstein bank records

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The Finnish Tax Administration plans to ask Germany for information on possible Finnish tax evaders when Finnish and German tax authorities meet this week in EU working groups.
     The German Ministry of Finance promised on Monday that information on depositors using the Liechtenstein-based LGT Bank would be given to those who put in a request.
     German Finance Ministry spokesman Thorsten Albig said on Monday that the names and account information would be provided to the officials of each country in question.
      "We will not charge for the information",joked Albig. The German intelligence service BND paid EUR 4.2 million to a former employee of the Liechtenstein-based LGT Bank for a copy of the account information.
     
In Finland, both the Tax Administration and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) are interested in knowing if the bank has any shady money from Finnish sources, such as funds hidden away as part of a bankruptcy crime, or untaxed sales profits.
     Various news agencies and on-line publications reported on Monday that officials of a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway, are interested in the names of their own citizens who might be in the records.
     Meanwhile, the Financial Times newspaper reported that British officials had paid the same employee EUR 133,00 for information on tax evaders served by the bank.
     
At the Finnish Tax Administration, Ahti Leoska, head of the tax inspection unit, says that the information from Germany will come either as the result of a request, or "spontaneously".
     "We have an agreement on executive assistance, which has an extensive clause on exchange of information. Sometimes tax information passes between the countries even without any requests", Leoska says.
     He expects the requests for information linked with the bank in Liechtenstein to be put forward to Germany this week.
      "We will ask for all Finnish names on the list", Leoska says.
     It was not yet known on Monday if there were any Finnish names included on the list of 1,400 names. However, there are foreigners on the list, as fewer than half of the holders of accounts - 600 people - are Germany.
     In addition, 4,527 beneficiaries of various foundations were found, according to Monday's Wall Street Journal.
      Tapio Kalliokoski, head of the economic crimes unit of the NBI said that the police are also interested in the account information of Finns.
     
The police must nevertheless consider the requests for information carefully. Usually the police ask for official assistance only in cases of concrete suspicion of a specific crime, and not for unspecified masses of data.
     "Liechtenstein is a country with strict bank secrecy, so it is likely that people who hide away funds can be found there", Kalliokoski says.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish names may surface in German tax evasion scandal (22.2.2008)

Helsingin Sanomat