21 Jan 2011

Ex Swiss banker re-arrested over tax leaks

6:02 am on 21 January 2011

A former Swiss banker who gave the details of thousands of tax-evaders to Wikileaks has been arrested for a second time.

Earlier on Wednesday, a court in Zurich found Rudolf Elmer guilty of issuing threats to his former employer and of passing on confidential client information.

The BBC reports Elmer, 55, was fined more than 6000 Swiss francs ($US6250), but escaped prosecution demands for a prison sentence.

He had said the leaks were to expose tax evasion by the rich.

"The state prosecutor's office is checking to see whether Rudolf Elmer has violated Swiss banking law by handing the CD over to WikiLeaks," the Zurich cantonal (state) police and prosecutor said in a joint statement.

Elmer said he first leaked private bank details about Baer clients to WikiLeaks three years ago.

He said on Monday that he had given fresh data to the website.