Swiss ex-banker turned whistle-blower Rudolf Elmer has been released from prison.
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swissinfo.ch and agencies
The former Julius Bär banker had been in police custody since January 19, after he handed over computer discs to WikiLeaks which he said contained details of as many as 2,000 offshore bank accounts.
On Monday, a friend of Elmer confirmed weekend news reports that he had been released three weeks ago.
Elmer’s release follows reports last month that the CDs he had handed to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange did not contain any bank account information.
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Market develops for stolen bank data
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Swiss lawyer and fraud specialist Christof Müller tells swissinfo.ch that a market has now developed for stolen client data. On Wednesday, Elmer was given a suspended fine after being found guilty of threatening his former employer Julius Bär and breaking Swiss secrecy laws. Elmer was then re-arrested in Zurich on charges of violating banking laws…
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The arrest by Zurich police on Wednesday followed Elmer’s appearance in a Zurich court, in which he was hit with a SFr7,200 ($7,500) suspended fine. He was found guilty of threatening his former employer and breaking Swiss secrecy laws. In a widely reported event on Monday he handed over two CDs to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange…
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It comes just two days after he handed WikiLeaks more client data. Shortly after the trial began, Elmer admitted that he had sent anonymous threatening letters to his ex-employer, Julius Bär bank, following intimidation. But he said bomb threats against the bank had not come from him. “I was in an extreme situation,” he said.…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.