Credit Suisse offices raided in tax probe

Prosecutors have raided 13 branches of Swiss bank Credit Suisse in Germany in connection with allegations staff helped clients evade taxes.

About 150 police officers searched branches in Berlin and Munich, among other cities, after a CD emerged apparently detailing tax evasion via Switzerland.

The disc, for which authorities reportedly paid €2.5m to an unnamed individual, allegedly contains information on about 1,100 wealthy Germans.

Prosecutors suspect €1.2bn euros of undeclared income was stashed in the Swiss accounts by the 1,100 people.

Investigations were launched into the individuals, but now officials have turned their attention to bank staff for allegedly aiding and abetting customers to avoid taxes, writes the BBC.

In April, Credit Suisse's chief executive Renato Fassbind said it appeared increasingly likely that some of the bank's clients were listed on a disc containing stolen data.

Governments in Europe and the US have been cracking down on tax evasion.

It is not the first time that Germany is thought to have paid for data on bank customers.

In France and the UK too, authorities have bought information on wealthy bank customers who may have hidden money in secret accounts.