The bank from which data was stolen in the Hildebrand affair has complained to the Swiss Press Council about reports published in Weltwoche magazine.
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Philipp Hildebrand resigned as chairman of the Swiss National Bank on January 9 amidst a scandal in which he was accused of profiting from his knowledge of the bank’s monetary policy to make advantageous currency trades.
Hildebrand maintained that his wife had ordered the controversial currency trades which were detailed in private banking details leaked by an IT worker at Bank Sarasin.
Bank Sarasin said in a statement on Monday that its complaint refers to “erroneous reporting” by the weekly Weltwoche magazine.
At the height of the scandal, the Weltwoche, known for its close ties to the rightwing Swiss People’s Party, declared that it had “proof” that Hildebrand, and not his wife, had indulged in insider dealing.
“Bank Sarasin believes Weltwoche seriously failed to meet its journalistic duties in various respects in the knowledge that this would damage Bank Sarasin’s reputation and the reputation of the client adviser wrongly given as a source,” the bank said in a statement on Monday.
“Not only did Weltwoche fail to check its own source adequately, but in the edition of January 5, 2012, it deliberately ignored information from Bank Sarasin and the opportunity to talk to the bank, which would have meant the erroneous reporting could have been corrected beforehand.”
Police are investigating the leaking of the Hildebrand family’s banking data as a possible breach of Switzerland’s banking secrecy law.
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Central bank scandal stokes political fires
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At the heart of the affair is the leaking of confidential bank data detailing foreign currency exchange transactions by Philipp Hildebrand’s family in breach of Swiss banking secrecy laws. Zurich police last week opened criminal investigations into two Swiss People’s Party cantonal parliamentarians allegedly involved in the transmission of the data to third parties. And…
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The Zurich prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Friday it had also launched criminal proceedings against a People’s Party lawyer and a Zurich cantonal parliamentarian for breaches of banking secrecy laws. As part of the investigation, police on Friday searched the houses of both the lawyer and the parliamentarian. Philipp Hildebrand resigned as chairman…
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The government thanked him for his achievements as central bank governor, but his opponents in the rightwing Swiss People’s Party have accused the federal authorities of covering up and glossing over private currency speculation by senior bank members. Hildebrand told a news conference on Monday that his resignation was with immediate effect. He explained he…
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His journey takes us to the heart of a $7,000 billion secret. The Swiss hold a third of all global offshore assets, shored up by conservatism and strict banking secrecy laws. With half of this market, just two banks – UBS and Credit Suisse – dominate the heart of the banking sector.
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