Photo: Rainer Jensen/DPA/AFPGerman prosecutors have opened a probe against three Swiss intelligence agents on suspicion of spying on German authorities hunting tax cheats in a case that has strained cross-border relations, local media reported Monday. He said he had discussed the affair with his Swiss counterpart Didier Burkhalter, who assured him that monitoring of German tax inspectors was not ongoing, as it had stopped in 2014. According to German media, Daniel M.'s alleged mission was to identify German tax investigators involved in purchasing stolen data on German residents who illegally stashed their money in Switzerland. Since January 2006, several German states have bought CDs or USB sticks containing stolen data on German tax dodgers, which came from Switzerland or Liechtenstein. Switzerland, where secrecy has been a cornerstone of the banking industry, reacted with outrage to the theft.

Source: The Local August 14, 2017 09:56 UTC