France seeks details on Vieira’s Swiss bank account

Tax officials in Switzerland said France has asked for information relating to a Swiss bank account held, or once held, by retired French soccer star Patrick Vieira.

Under the terms of a bilateral treaty, France may ask Switzerland for judicial aid in cases where tax is paid in two different countries on the same income, or in cases where tax evasion or fraud is suspected.

Tackling tax evasion is an issue that François Hollande, the French president, is pushing hard to help trim public debt without further stifling France’s recession-stricken economy and because of a tax scandal involving a former government minister.