ZURICH -- Swiss banks passed on millions of emails that contain details on American clients to U.S. authorities in an attempt to settle a lingering dispute over taxes, Swiss national radio reported Tuesday.
At the request of the Swiss government the emails were encrypted to ensure compliance with Swiss bank secrecy laws. The Swiss government aims to reach a far-reaching agreement with U.S. authorities, which are accusing 11 Swiss banks of having helped U.S. clients dodge taxes. Once such an agreement has been reached, the emails and other data would be decoded, Swiss radio reported, citing parliamentarians who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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