Swiss whistleblower passes data to WikiLeaks

Rudolf Elmer, former employee at the Julius Baer bank in the Cayman Islands was fired by the same bank in 2002. Elmer is scheduled to go on trial in Switzerland on Wednesday for breaching bank secrecy.

The data handover took place during a news conference at a media club in London. The two CD’s contain information on 2,000 banking clients who parked money offshore.

"He (Elmer) is clearly a bona fide whistleblower... We have some kind of duty to support him in that matter," said Assange, who is on bail in Britain and fighting extradition to Sweden where he faces questioning over alleged sex crimes.

“I know how the system works … It’s damaging … (I want) to educate our society.”

WikiLeaks will vet the data before publishing it, with the process said to take at least two weeks. Vetting will be done by themselves, media organisations and other partners to protect sources amongst other concerns.

Meanwhile Julius Baer, the bank who fired Elmer in 2002, said Elmer’s aim was to discredit the bank as well as clients in the eyes of the public.

"After his demands (including financial compensation) in connection with the dismissal could not be satisfied, Mr Elmer embarked in 2004 on a personal intimidation campaign and vendetta against Julius Baer," the bank said in a statement.