Swiss Authorities Provide Limited Assistance To Australian Fraud Investigators

Stephen Harris

31 March 2006

The Swiss authorities have delivered some crucial evidence for Australia's largest tax fraud investigation, Operation Wickenby, surprising Australian investigators. The evidence, seized from Geneva firm Strachans, relates to nine core groups of suspects including well-known Australian celebrities, businessmen and high profile professionals. The Australian investigators believe that A$400 million ($286 million) in evaded taxes has been laundered through offshore tax havens and Swiss bank accounts through the auspices of Strachans. However, the Swiss authorities have not been wholly forthcoming in supplying evidence. According to Australian media report, boxes of documents remain in the hands of Geneva cantonal court judge Daniel Dumartheray because most of the Australian requests for assistance were "regarded as inadmissible" and must now be resolved by legal proceedings in both countries. Some requests had fallen foul of a technical condition in the Australia-Switzerland mutual assistance treaty requiring the Swiss to cooperate only in respect of crimes recognised in Switzerland. The treaty specifically excludes "fiscal offences" meaning that non-disclosure of tax income is not caught by the treaty unless it is so serious as to be deemed tax "fraud".