US diplomat praises good relations with Swiss
The United States ambassador to Switzerland says no new attempts are made by Washington to investigate Swiss banks over suspected tax evasion.
“To my knowledge no such thing is being considered. The US government welcomes the honest efforts by Switzerland to put behind its past as a tax haven,” Donald Beyer told the Le Temps newspaper.
Swiss parliament in June endorsed an accord between Switzerland and the US handing over up data of up to 4,450 UBS bank account holders suspected of tax evasion.
Beyer said Switzerland was a “very good partner” for Washington as the government’s intelligence service and the US authorities cooperated closely.
The ambassador who took up his post in Bern last autumn confirmed that US diplomats intervened to help solve a crisis between Switzerland and Libya over two businessmen held hostage in Tripoli for nearly two years.
Beyer regretted the Swiss government’s refusal to extradite filmmaker Roman Polanski to the US to face prosecution in a sex case.
However, he said the decision had to be seen in a wider context. Beyer added he was happy to see the end of the case which had strained bilateral relations.
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