(Gb). Before the district court, he flashed and before the Aargau high court too. Only the Federal Supreme Court considers the German gold owner’s lawsuit to be partially justified, as is clear from a judgment published on Thursday.
The man had amassed several hundred thousand francs of gold in a Swiss bank’s precious metals account. In January 2014, he wanted to have the 299 ounces handed over – in kind. The bank clerk asked him to sign a so-called disclosure form. This is to ensure that he would tax the gold correctly.
The man wanted to keep the gold as “iron reserves”
But the man refused to sign the form. According to the judgment, he spoke of wanting to keep gold as an “iron reserve” and “as secret as possible”.
The bank then terminated the business relationship and offered to transfer the gold to another bank. The man refused and insisted on the payment of his gold bars.
He then filed a lawsuit with the Zurzach District Court, which ruled in 2017 for the bank. Due to the strange statements of the man, the district court and later also the Aargau higher court found that there was an increased risk of tax evasion. According to the money laundering law, the bank was obliged to leave a “paper trail”, so to ensure that the path of gold can be traced using documents, the courts argued.
Federal court brings German law into play
The Federal Supreme Court did not share this view. A “dubious business relationship” should not be assumed. Accordingly, the bank was not obliged to leave a “paper trail”.
However, the Federal Supreme Court does not rule out that the payment to the German citizen has violated German law. The higher court of the canton of Aargau must now examine the case again and clarify this question.
— ,
