EXCLUSIVE: Rudolf Elmer explains why he blew the whistle on Julius Bär’s secret evasion activities
31 January 2012
Salman Shaheen - ITR
Rudolf Elmer’s name hit the international headlines when he was exposed as the whistle-blower on the activities of his former employer, Swiss bank Julius Bär, in the Cayman Islands, handing over the names of 2,000 tax evaders to WikiLeaks. The episode was one of a number that focused attention on tax havens. In an exclusive interview, Elmer explains why he did it, what the impact has been on the world and his life and why he is the one being treated as a criminal.
For almost two decades, Elmer was employed by Julius Bär where his work took him to offshore financial centres around the world, counting and protecting the money of high-net-worth individuals, financial institutions and multinational corporations. He became privy to the Swiss bank’s own tax avoidance practices while working as chief operating officer in the Cayman Islands for eight years until he was dismissed in 2002 after questioning his company’s actions.
Arguing that he was fired based on a “dubious lie detector test”, Elmer is clearly angry about his treatment by the bank. His decision to hand over the details of 2,000 tax evaders to WikiLeaks in 2008, was at least to some extent personal.
“I was abused as a compliance officer and some criminal clients were not disclosed to me by the local management,” says Elmer. “I was threatened by management and told if I took the...
This article is available to subscribers of ITR Premium only. Please login to read the rest of this article.
If you would like to gain access to related content from our other products, please upgrade your current subscription.
Subscribe now
This article is available to subscribers only. To gain acess to to the rest of this article please subscribe to ITR Premium.
Subscribe