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GERMANY

Tax evaders become pariahs for Credit Suisse

Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse wants to clean house and remove all tax evaders from its clientele, bank chairman Urs Rohner said in an interview published on Wednesday.

Tax evaders become pariahs for Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse Chairman Urs Rohner (Photo: Credit Suisse)

"It is clear that a business model based on untaxed assets has no future," Rohner told the Swiss-German daily Tages-Anzeiger when asked about a pending tax deal between Bern and Berlin.

The deal, which will require Swiss banks to deduct taxes from German clients and transfer the tax revenues to Berlin — thus allowing the clients to remain anonymous — is to be voted on by the upper house of the German parliament on Friday.

It is expected to be rejected though, since a majority of the Bundesrat has voiced opposition, deeming the deal is too lenient on tax evaders.

Rohner said it would be a shame if the deal did not go through.

"In my view, it would be a very good agreement for all those involved," he said, stressing the deal would help smooth relations between the two countries which have become tense amid allegations that Swiss banking practices are helping Germans hide billions of euros.

The Bundesrat should pass it as quickly as possible, he said, pointing out that "every day (without a deal) possible tax claims are slipping away."

But if the treaty is rejected, Credit Suisse does not intend to allow tax evaders to remain on as clients, he stressed.

If potential clients refuse to report their assets to the tax authorities in their countries, "the bank will clearly tell them that it does not want
their business," Rohner said, adding that the bank would also ask existing clients to leave if they did not declare their assets.

If ratified, the tax deal is set to take effect on January 1st next year, and will entail taxation rates of between 21 and 41 percent on German assets held in Switzerland.

Switzerland has reached similar deals with Austria and Britain and is negotiating deals with Greece and Italy

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GERMANY

Germany cracks down on fake Covid vaccine documents

German police have set up a special team to fight a growing number of forged vaccine certificates being sold in the black market

Germany cracks down on fake Covid vaccine documents
People who are fully vaccinated can show their vaccination booklet, which has a stamp and a sticker inside. Photo: Ina FASSBENDER / AFP

Police in Cologne have warned of a group of fraudsters selling fake vaccination certificates, a growing problem the scale of which is still unclear.

The police said the fraudsters worked in encrypted Telegram chats, making investigations difficult, and were selling fake documents with all the stamps and signatures, including a mark about vaccination with BioNTech or AstraZeneca.

READ ALSO: Germany probes Covid-19 testing centres for fraud

The fraud involved both real traffic in fake documents as well as scams luring customers into paying €100.

People in Germany who are fully vaccinated can show their vaccination booklet, which has a stamp and a sticker inside. Those who don’t have a booklet get a piece of paper.

Covid health passes are currently being rolled out across the EU, with a European health passport expected to be available from mid-June.

READ ALSO: What’s the latest on how the EU’s ‘Covid passports’ will work for travellers?

Over 44% of the adult population in Germany has received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and more than 18% of Germans have been fully vaccinated.

German police have said forged coronavirus vaccine documents are becoming an increasing problem.

Last month, a couple in Baden-Württemberg was accused of selling fake coronavirus vaccination certificates.

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