Swiss Banker Who Broke Secrecy Rules To Be Jailed
A Swiss court has increased the prison sentence handed to a former banker who broke the country's strict banking secrecy laws.
An appeals court in the northwestern city of Basel has sentenced the unidentified Swiss man to three months in prison for handing over details of 45 bank clients to German authorities.
The 38-year-old gave up the information while being detained in Germany on suspicion of fraud.
Prosecutors had appealed as too lenient the original 30-day prison sentence meted out in 2007. The Basel appeals court said Friday that the sentence was increased because of the severity of his crime.
Switzerland's banking secrecy laws were put in place in the 1930s to protect customers who deposit their money in the Alpine republic's famed banks.
