German Chancellor to buy tax-cheat list

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, says she will buy a list of alleged tax avoiders said to be hiding money in Switzerland if the document is authentic.



Up to 1,500 Germans are alleged to have stashed millions of dollars in secret Swiss bank accounts.



An Information Technology specialist at one of the world’s largest financial institutions has said that he has the list of Germans who hold millions of dollars in overseas accounts.



He is said to be asking for $3.5 million to share the list of names.



It is reported that if the list is true, the government would recover $100 million in unpaid taxes.



However, the Swiss finance ministry has refused to grant Germany any assistance in connection with the document, saying it was based on stolen information.