Switzerland said Monday that it had completed a programme to pay Britain and Austria hundreds of millions of euros in settlements for past tax-dodging by their citizens.
In a statement, the Swiss tax administration said that London had received a total of 469.5 million pounds (593 million euros, $779 million), and Vienna, 738.3 million euros over the course of the year-long programme.
With the financial crisis having put Switzerland under mounting pressure to lift its trademark banking secrecy laws, the country opted to give ground in some areas in order to defend the overall principle of privacy.
Under bilateral deals with Britain and Austria, Switzerland offered two options to people who failed to declare in their home countries money placed in Swiss banks.
They could either turn themselves in to their homeland’s revenue services, or have their accounts taxed by the Swiss, who then transferred the funds without naming the clients.
It was under the latter system that Switzerland handed over the sums in tranches between July 2013 and August 2014.
