Financial prosecutors call depositors named on Swiss bank list

Financial prosecutors have begun summoning Greeks with deposits in Switzerland, whose names are on a list recently supplied by German authorities, to explain where they got their money from and if they have paid the necessary tax.

The first 20 notifications have been sent out, a source said, and judicial authorities plan to send another 20 to 30 per day so that around half of the depositors on the list will have been questioned by the end of February.

The western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia handed the Greek Finance Ministry in December more than 10,000 data sets on accounts held by Greeks in Switzerland, mostly at UBS. The total amount of deposits is estimated at close to 4 billion euros.

Sources said the list contains the names of businessmen, entertainers and priests, among others.