THE REVENUE Commissioners plans to contact the German tax authorities to see if there are any Irish names on the list of suspected tax defrauders that Berlin bought from a whistleblower who worked in a Liechtenstein bank.
A spokesman for the Revenue said they were aware of the list obtained by German intelligence containing details on 1,400 wealthy individuals who held money in anonymous trusts in LGT Bank in Liechtenstein.
He said Revenue was "following developments with interest". "We will be in touch with the German authorities," he added.
He also pointed out that Revenue had collected €906 in taxes, interest and penalties in its investigation into offshore assets and accounts held by Irish residents which began in 2003.
Liechtenstein is well-known for its strict bank secrecy rules and complex corporate structures which have helped wealthy foreigners hide money in its banks.
The German intelligence agency, BND, paid a former employee of LGT Bank €4.2 million in January 2006 for a list of German and non-German holders of anonymous trusts managed by the bank. LGT said it believed the information obtained by BND contained information on about 1,400 clients, only 600 of whom were German residents.
The information has led to the biggest tax crackdown in German history and a diplomatic row with the principality.
However, the two-week-old German tax investigation is already expanding far beyond its borders.
The German finance ministry has said it will share the information with other countries to allow tax authorities across Europe to see if their nationals also have trusts in the principality. "We are going to respond to requests in this regard," said a spokesman for the finance ministry in Berlin, adding that Germany would not charge for the information.
Finland, Sweden and Norway have expressed an interest in the list, while the UK and US have obtained information separately from the whistleblower in an effort to identify tax dodgers at home. The UK tax authorities have said the information could lead to the recovery of £100 million sterling (€132 million) in unpaid taxes.
In a statement on its website, LGT wrote: "Apparently, the stolen data material has also been illegally disclosed, directly or indirectly, to other authorities. LGT regards such methods as being extremely offensive." LGT has said the client data was stolen by an employee of the bank in 2002.
