Russia seeks to lift the lid on Swiss bank accounts

By Andrei Skvarsky.

The Swiss government has promised to disclose details of some of the Russian accounts in Swiss banks to Russian authorities.

Under an agreement planned for this week, Russia would be able to seek such information if any of its citizens with a bank account in Switzerland is suspected of tax evasion or money laundering, according to Interfax and Russian business daily Vedomosti.

An Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development rule that Switzerland pledged to comply with in 2009 prohibits Swiss banks from keeping all their account information secret from law enforcement authorities.