Germany, Switzerland Sign Agreement to Cease Bilateral Espionage

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – According to the Swiss Tages Anzeiger newspaper, the memorandum of understanding supposes that both sides will give up spying against each other and coordinate their actions, when acting against a third party. In the future German intelligence will have to inform Swiss authorities, when they have to carry out espionage activities for conducting an anti-crime operation in Switzerland, and vice versa.

The news comes against the background of recent arrest of a Swiss national Daniel M. in Germany over spying on German tax inspectors, who reportedly sought to buy CDs with information on holders of bank accounts in Switzerland. The information provided by the agent allowed Swiss authorities to charge three German officials with breaking Swiss legislation.

Intelligence services of both countries have been spying and collecting data on tax payers to catch those, who avoid paying taxes at home and breach the laws. Switzerland has been known for a long time as a heaven for tax cheaters thanks to its bank secrecy. However, the situation changed, when Swiss authorities agreed on automatic exchange of data on bank accounts.

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