WikiLeaks banker escapes jail

The banker who claims to have handed WikiLeaks details of rich tax evaders was found guilty of breaking Switzerland’s strict banking secrecy laws today.

A judge at Zurich’s Regional Court fined Rudolf Elmer 6,000 Swiss francs (€4,600).

Elmer claimed at the one-day trial in the country’s banking capital that he acted after being persecuted by his former employer Julius Baer.

He also claimed to have wanted to expose widespread tax evasion by rich businesspeople and politicians when he sent confidential banking files to tax authorities, media and later WikiLeaks.

Judge Sebastian Aeppli rejected prosecution demands to give Elmer an eight-month prison sentence.