Bank Sarasin files complaint against Weltwoche

Bank Sarasin is of the opinion that Weltwoche has seriously breached its journalistic duties in various respects and in doing so has accepted damage to the reputation of Bank Sarasin and the client advisor wrongly cited as the source, according to a statement issued on Monday. Weltwoche had not only inadequately checked its only source, but had also deliberately ignored information and contacts made by Bank Sarasin in the edition of January 5, 2012, which would have allowed a prior correction of the erroneous reporting, and had also failed to make corrections in subsequent editions. Bank Sarasin has no further comment on the content of the complaint.

On behalf of the Press Council, section secretary Martin Künzi said that the committee had already considered taking action on its own initiative. The bank's complaint is now being looked into. A decision by the Council for Ethics in the Media is expected by the middle of the year. Weltwoche editor-in-chief Roger Köppel told the SDA news agency that the reporting had been correct. Weltwoche had "fulfilled its journalistic duty to the best of its knowledge and belief". The abuses uncovered had led to Hildebrand's resignation.

Bank Sarasin had never been at the center of the criticism and reporting. In addition, the bank had not answered any of the newspaper's inquiries, citing banking secrecy. When the bank voiced criticism after the first article, Weltwoche asked what needed to be corrected. According to Köppel, this question also remained unanswered.

Bank Sarasin has already filed a criminal complaint in the affair surrounding the stolen bank data of former National Bank director Philipp Hildebrand. This is directed against the former IT employee who handled Hildebrand's bank data.

The complaint also mentions people who may have incited the man to commit his crime or exploited him. This could at least make things uncomfortable for the Thurgau lawyer and SVP cantonal councillor Hermann Lei, who was given the stolen bank details. The information finally reached the Federal Council via former Federal Councillor and SVP National Councillor Christoph Blocher.