In espionage process against Swiss Danielm. The defendant put a confession in hope of a probationary sentence. In a statement read by his defenders and subsequent interrogation by judges, M. represented himself as a middleman who did not want to know exactly how a German business partner tax investigator from North Rhine-Westphalia conservatives.
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A total of 13,000 euros and 15,000 francs were received by his clients from Swiss intelligence service of federal government between 2011 and 2013 as a fee, and a total of around 70,000 euros were forwarded to owner of a Frankfurt security company. In return, this had concerned personal information such as addresses, phone numbers and birth dates of three financial officials, dieam purchase of so-called tax CDs in Switzerland. Such CDs had bought land of North Rhine-Westphalia to track down German evaders and to raise demands in millions of dollars. In addition, German partner tried to place a source in North Rhine-Westphalia financial administration. What German private investigator did exactly, M. did not know.
The man thus confirmed accusations of federal prosecutor’s office – without admitting more than prosecutors had already suspected. His defenders thus see ir part of agreement that participants of process had closed on first day of proceedings a week ago: a comprehensive confession against a probation sentence of one and a half to two years and 40,000 euro money.
As motives, M. “was a mixture of patriotism, adventure, outrage and profit-seeking”. As a former policeman, he felt flattered that his home country needed his help. He was also indignant about his opinion of illegal data acquisition by German tax investigators in Switzerland. It was a question of “national security”. Now he regretted having misjudged explosiveness of his n orders.
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His three backers at Swiss Secret Service would have instructed him to obtain personal data of German officials in order to be able to issue arrest warrants against m. Later, y would have contacted him again to install an “early warning system” against new German CD purchases using a mole. M. doubted, however, that his German business partner had ever opened up a source.
After survey of Swiss, court still heard a commissioner of Federal Criminal office as only witness. He said that apart from M. S earlier statements in a preliminary proceedings against him in Switzerland, re was no indication of existence of a Spitzels in tax investigators.
M. s German business partner is not loaded as a witness. In a week, plea of federal prosecutor’s Office is on, in two weeks court wants to proclaim its verdict. Wher Judge M. S confession is credible is crucial to wher he can soon be released as a free man from custody. Because in conversation is an agreement from first day of process to condemn man for one and a half to two years imprisonment, toger with a fine of 40,000 euros – but only “in case of a credible confession”, as chairman Judge Josef Bill said. As a maximum penalty, five years of deprivation of liberty may be imposed for intelligence agents. “He has acted in best of knowledge and conscience as a Swiss for Switzerland,” said one of defenders. It looks like deal would succeed, according to a. M. plans to work as a private investigator in Switzerland.
