€200m secreted in Swiss banks
2010-03-06 08:30
Sofia - A stolen disk of Swiss banking data bought by Germany last week revealed that Bulgarian tax evaders held about €200m in Swiss banks, Bulgaria's revenue agency chief said on Friday.
"We had information that Bulgarian citizens held about €200m in banks in Liechtenstein and Switzerland in 2007 and 2008," Krasimir Stefanov told national radio from Berlin.
"Our meetings with the authorities here (in Germany) confirmed this data," he added.
Stefanov arrived in the German capital on Friday to consult the stolen disc containing the names of 1 500 Swiss account holders who may have defrauded their country's tax authorities.
Germany had agreed to share the data with Bulgaria, Stefanov said, adding that on his return he would consult the Bulgarian finance ministry on further steps to be taken against tax cheats.
Revenue agency sources cited by newspaper reports on Friday said about a dozen alleged tax fraudsters had already asked if they could voluntarily turn themselves in.
Stefanov told the radio the government had yet to decide whether it would allow these people to pay their taxes and avoid other sanctions, which include as much as eight years in jail for large-scale evaders.