BERN, Switzerland - Swiss authorities will help Germany in its prosecution of arms dealer Karlheinz Schreiber on charges of bribery and fraud.
An official says Germany can use bank documents it secured from Switzerland in 1999 in the case against Schreiber, who is accused of corruption in connection with the sale of German army tanks to Saudi Arabia.
The case also has affected Canada, where Schreiber is awaiting extradition while a public inquiry evaluates his dealings with former prime minister Brian Mulroney.
Mulroney has acknowledged he accepted $225,000 from the German-Canadian, but only after leaving politics in 1993, in exchange for promoting a project involving a light armoured vehicle factory on behalf of Schreiber's client, Thyssen.
German authorities allege Schreiber -- who worked as a lobbyist, consultant and dealmaker in the sale of helicopters, Airbus aircraft and armaments -- avoided paying income tax on millions of dollars in commissions.
Last year, Switzerland blocked the use of bank documents in the German investigation on suspicion that Germany was only interested in uncovering tax evasion, said Folco Galli, spokesman for the Swiss Ministry of Justice.
Tax evasion is only an administrative offence in Switzerland, which does not provide juridical assistance to other governments investigating alleged abuses. It does provide help in cases of money laundering, bribery and other felonies.
Switzerland no longer believes that Germany's case is only focused on tax evasion, Galli said, confirming a report that appeared in the weekly NZZ am Sonntag.
Tensions have recently escalated between the two countries amid a German investigation of a tax evasion scheme through the tiny principality of Liechtenstein, which has rules similar to the Swiss on banking secrecy.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to visit Switzerland in late April.
