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Privacy Protection: Liechtenstein vs. the “free” world

Posted March 10, 2008

“Recently, the German government illegally bribed a disgruntled former Liechtenstein bank employee for confidential bank information stolen from LGT Bank in Liechtenstein.” — Bob Bauman

by Bob Bauman

Baltimore – (TFN): By now, I’m sure you’ve heard about the recent Lichtenstein affair. But just in case you missed it, here’s a quick summary.

Recently, the German government illegally bribed a disgruntled former Liechtenstein bank employee for confidential bank information stolen from LGT Bank in Liechtenstein. Since this bribery hit the press three weeks ago, I’ve spoken to many of my offshore contacts around the world about the matter.

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In my many interviews, I received a particularly interesting observation from attorney Cathy Odgers, legal counsel and compliance officer for Global Consultants & Services Ltd. in Hong Kong. I am indebted to Cathy for her thoughts. In fact, allow me to paraphrase her informative comments in my own words:

According to Cathy, the central culprit in this plot is a crook named Heinrich Kieber.

Privacy Protection: Offshore’s most wanted

Herr Kieber worked for the LGT Group at LGT Treuhand (Bank) AG, in Vaduz, Liechtenstein until 2002. A man of questionable background, he allegedly has a 1997 international arrest warrant for a fraudulent real estate deal. He left Liechtenstein in November 2002, after stealing confidential data from his employer, LGT Bank, and making copies on a DVD disc.

The German secret police later paid Kieber €5 million (US$7.9 million) for the stolen data. The data, containing about 1,400 “client relationships,” 600 of them Germans, was a major haul for German tax collectors. Germany apparently also sold or gave the information to the governments of Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Norway, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, the USA, Australia and New Zealand. Read on to learn if Liechtenstein is still a safe haven or if you should move your money to another country.

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Posted by Bob Bauman · Filed Under International Investing 

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