Norbert Walter-Borjans, the German tax general who made a pact with thiefs in a bid to steal information about tax dodgers, now passed on the stolen goods to the Greek government.
Greece is close to bankruptcy and its richest citizens hide their money in secret locations to avoid paying taxes. Norbert Walter-Borjans, who carries the title of finance minister of North Rhine-Westphalia and is better known for his collaboration with data thiefs, now wants to help Greek authorities recover some of the money its citizens owe.
North Rhine-Westphalia put 10,000 records at the disposal of the Greek authorities, the finance ministry of the German federal state said in a statement on Wednesday.
Only Trying to Help
The records contain information about Swiss accounts of Greek tax dodgers, according to the statement. Claiming the moral high ground, Walter-Borjans said he tried to help the Greeks restore honesty in tax matters.
Trifon Alexiadis, the deputy finance minister of Greece, said his department would now evaluate the records. The information about accounts concerned private citizens and companies with assets as much as 4 billion francs.
Since 2010, North Rhine-Westphalia in a carefully orchestrated campaign bought several sets of data stolen from Swiss banks. Walter-Borjans paid 5 million euros for the most expensive of the records, according to a report by German magazine «Der Spiegel».
