Swiss banking specialists challenge France over tax dodger blacklist

Eric Woerth, the French budget minister, said on Sunday that Paris had been given the names of 3,000 French residents who were "very probably" profiting illegally from the neighbouring country's secretive fiscal system.

The value of the assets in the accounts was estimated at about 3 billion euros (£2.6bn), he said.

The unprecedented move, which has cast fear into the thousands of French citizens thought to have deposited gains over the border, followed the signing last week of an information sharing agreement on suspected tax dodgers between Paris and Berne.

However, Switzerland's finance ministry on Monday said it had received no request for administrative assistance from the French tax authorities, and pointed out that the new bilateral agreement only takes effect next year.

Mr Woerth said he received the account data from two banks "operating in France", who offered up the details "spontaneously".

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