Munich - Police swooped on the homes of wealthy Germans Monday seeking evidence of tax evasion, as Berlin celebrated its acquisition of a secret list of dodgers from the tax haven of Liechtenstein. Christian Schmidt-Sommerfeld, prosecutions spokesman in the Bavarian capital, said he had received a courtesy call from tax officials and out-of-state tax-fraud investigators to say they were conducting raids in the greater Munich area.
He declined to give details. The work was being done by prosecutors from Bochum in the west of the country.
The website of a newspaper, Handelsblatt, said similar raids were under way in the Frankfurt area.
Berlin officials say the names of about 1,000 tax evaders were betrayed by a person in the pay of Germany's foreign intelligence service, the BND. The tiny principality of Liechtenstein's financial services industry helps rich Germans invest their money.
The inquiry claimed its first high-profile victim, Deutsche Post chief executive Klaus Zumwinkel, last Thursday. Berlin ministers have called on evaders to turn themselves in before they too are raided.
Prosecutors said Zumwinkel avoided 1 million euros (1.5 million dollars) in tax by creating a trust for his money in Liechtenstein.
The news magazine Der Spiegel said the scam came to light after the BND paid 5 million euros to an informant for a disc of data.
In Berlin, opposition politicians demanded an inquiry into whether it was appropriate for the BND, normally responsible for researching foreign military and political secrets, to help the tax system.
