Germany: big new bank data set emerges. Will it be worthless?

Here is a rough web translation of a story in Der Spiegel, which looks extremely interesting, especially in the context of latest news:

"According to the "Frankfurter Rundschau", German investigators are in possession of a new disk with information about thousands of alleged tax evaders. It is apparently data about German clients of a large Swiss bank, the newspaper reported, citing official circles.

The purchase had been so far successfully kept secret, it said. It was a very large data set. Also, the bank apparently knows nothing yet of data loss. The evaluation by German investigators is already advanced. Prosecutors and tax investigators several states are preparing a search and seizure. . . .

As we said, interesting. . . . the original Frankfurter Rundschau story is here, with a rough web translation here. And it adds some very spicy additional analysis:

"Shortly before the big blow against tax evaders falls, there is dismay among the investigators about the stance of the federal government. The investigators have watched the signing of the black money-tax agreement between Switzerland and Germany with incomprehension. After its entry into force, the agreement guarantees owners of black money in Switzerland and the bankers involved in the evasion of impunity and anonymity. "

Clearly, something fishy has been happening here with the timing of all this.

More on the Swiss-German tax deal, shortly.