Swiss anger at Italian bank probes - GloucesterTimes.com, Gloucester, MA

Tue, Nov 24 2009

Published: October 28, 2009 11:02 am PrintThis

Swiss anger at Italian bank probes

BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Swiss officials say Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey has summoned Italy's ambassador to explain why Italian authorities carried out dozens of inspections of Swiss banks.

Italy's financial police inspected 76 Italian branches of Swiss banks and related offices Tuesday as part of a crackdown on cross-border tax evasion.

Interior Minister Pascal Couchepin says Calmy-Rey's summons came after the Swiss cabinet met Wednesday to discuss the issue.

Swiss government spokesman Andre Simonazzi says the Italian authorities acted in a "discriminatory" fashion.

Switzerland recently relaxed its banking secrecy laws after heavy pressure from the United States and other countries.

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