A Swiss banker who faced more than three years in prison for providing WikiLeaks with confidential details of his former employers offshore activities walked out of a Zurich courtroom a free man on Monday. <\/p>\n
Rudolf Elmer, 59, was given a suspended fine of 16,800 Swiss francs ($19,397) for violating Swiss bank secrecy laws under a system that allows courts to convert prison time into a financial penalty. The district court in Zurich said that if Elmer commits another offense in the next three years, he may have to pay the fine, which represents four months in prison. <\/p>\n
Prosecutors had sought a prison term of three and a half years for Elmer, saying in their closing arguments last week that he repeatedly betrayed the bank under the guise of humanitarian goals. They had also sought a ban on him working as a banker, which the court also denied. <\/p>\n
Elmer, a former senior banking executive in the Caribbean for Zurich-based Julius Baer Group Ltd., has described himself as a whistle-blower who wanted to raise awareness of the use of Swiss bank accounts for tax evasion and other illegal activity. 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. <\/p>\n
Elmer wasnt surprised by the verdict, said Ganden Tethong, his lawyer. I already told him beforehand that he need not worry about the three and a half years. <\/p>\n
Elmer was found guilty of providing data on Julius Baer client accounts that was published on the anti-secrecy website in 2008. But the court said it lacked evidence to convict him of handing similar information to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at a news conference in London in 2011. Swiss law prohibits bankers from revealing confidential details about their clients. <\/p>\n
Elmer was also convicted of forging a letter that falsely accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of having a Swiss bank account. He was acquitted on another charge of offering data to the German government in 2009. <\/p>\n
The verdict didnt appear to satisfy either side. Tethong said she would appeal, calling the ruling unconvincing. The statute of limitations has run out one of the counts used to convict Elmer, she said. <\/p>\n
Prosecutor Peter Giger said he would await the courts full explanation, expected later this year, before deciding whether to challenge the decision. <\/p>\n
While such cases are not uncommon in Switzerland, where for almost a century the principle of bank secrecy has been enforced by laws that carry prison terms for offenders, Elmers trial attracted more attention than most. Thats partly because it involved a website that has come under fire from the U.S. and other governments around the world for publishing confidential documents under an avowed commitment to increased transparency. <\/p>\n
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