Swiss private banking group Julius Baer will pay the German authorities a one-off €50 million ($72.5 million) to bring to an end their investigations into Julius Baer and unknown employees relating to undeclared assets of persons subject to taxation in Germany.

This payment is to be made with the aim of avoiding “lengthy and for both sides cumbersome legal proceedings", the bank said in a statement today.

The investigations were prompted by voluntary self-disclosures by German clients and by data acquired and collected by the authorities, the bank added.

The move comes at a time when banks such as Julius Baer have been targeted by G20 nations as they try to stamp out alleged tax evasion via Swiss bank accounts. The German government has even paid for data stolen from one Swiss-based private bank.

In January, former Julius Baer banker Rudolf Elmer was convicted by a Swiss court of coercion, and fined SFr7,200. His appeal was later dismissed on appeal. He caused a sensation by giving the "whistleblower" website WikiLeaks CDs of what he claimed were thousands of secret bank account details. The affair has highlighted threats to bank account confidentiality and the role that can be played by the internet.

Julius Baer, meanwhile, said in its statement today that its interim management statement summarising its business performance during the first four months of the current year will be published as planned on 12 May.