Former Swiss Banker to Stand Trial Over WikiLeaks Data

Rudolf Elmer, the former employee of Julius Baer Group Ltd. accused of revealing details of client accounts via WikiLeaks, collapsed about two hours after he went on trial in Zurich today on charges of violating Switzerlands bank secrecy laws. The trial was halted as medics attended to him.

Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of three and a half years for Elmer, 59, who embarked on a whistle-blowing campaign after leaving the bank more than a decade ago. He is also accused of offering bank data to the German government and forging a document concerning his former employer, according to a charge sheet filed with Zurich District Court.

The accused led a very versatile and persistent fight against Julius Baer, Prosecutor Peter Giger said in the document, dated June 30. Elmer has denied wrongdoing.

While such cases are not uncommon in Switzerland, where for nearly a century the principle of bank secrecy has been enforced by laws that carry prison terms for offenders, Elmers case has attracted more attention than most. In part this is because he says he was not motivated by personal gain and because the transfer involved WikiLeaks, a website that has drawn the ire of governments around the world, including the U.S., for publishing confidential documents under an avowed commitment to increased transparency.

Elmer appeared in court today unshaven and wearing a blue hoodie. The trial began with three judges deliberating whether the statute of limitations applies to charges related to alleged disclosures via WikiLeaks, saying they would make a decision at the same time they decide on the whole case. Elmer said in a prepared statement he uploaded a forged letter from Julius Baer to German Chancellor Angela Merkel to test WikiLeaks in 2007. Once that letter was published, he uploaded additional material, he said.

After refusing to answer questions about his personal situation, including about his income and his children, Elmer asked for a five-minute break, complaining of a headache. He later collapsed and an ambulance was called to the scene. He was conscious as medics attended to him. The proceedings were halted.

Elmer was detained in January 2011 and held for about five months on a judges order after prosecutors argued that he might tamper with material important to their investigation. He has continued to wage a public campaign against an offshore banking network that he says enables wealthy people to hide money from tax authorities.

Elmer worked at a unit of Julius Baer in the Cayman Islands until 2002. He uploaded data to WikiLeaks, a website that publishes confidential documents under an avowed commitment to increased transparency, from as early as 2007. In January 2011, he gave two compact discs to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at a press conference in London. He said today that the discs were empty.

Countries including the U.S., the U.K. and Germany have used testimony from former Swiss bankers or stolen client data to pursue offshore tax dodgers. Under pressure, the Swiss government has agreed to implement international automatic tax information-sharing arrangements, and its banks have cooperated with foreign probes in a bid for leniency.

The trial comes amid public demands for greater protection of bank secrecy. The Swiss may vote on new measures to preserve the tradition, after a petition sponsored by three political parties gathered more than the 100,000 signatures required to force a referendum on the question.

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Former Swiss Banker to Stand Trial Over WikiLeaks Data