Christoph Meili
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christoph Meili (born April 12, 1968) is a Swiss whistleblower.
In early 1997, Meili worked as a night guard at the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) in Zurich, Switzerland. He discovered that officials at UBS destroyed documents about orphaned assets, i.e. credit balances of deceased Jewish clients whose heirs' whereabouts were unknown, which was a violation of Swiss laws.[1]
On January 8, 1997,[2] he took some bank files home. After a telephone conversation, he handed them over to a local Jewish organization, which brought the documents to the police, and eventually to the press, which published the document destruction on January 14, 1997.[3]
The authorities of Zürich opened a judicial investigation against Meili[4] for suspected violation of the Swiss laws on banking secrecy,[5] which is an offense to be prosecuted ex officio in Switzerland.[6] After charges were filed against him, Ed Fagan approached him and convinced him to move to the United States, where he was granted political asylum.[7][8] According to news reports, Christoph Meili and his family are the only Swiss nationals in history ever to have been granted political asylum in the United States.[9] On January 13, 1998, Fagan filed suit on behalf of Meili against UBS, demanding a sum of 2.56 billion U.S. dollars. The settlement between the Swiss banks and the plaintiffs on the order of US $1.25 billion on August 13, 1998 also covered Meili's law suit and thus ended it.[10]
Later in 1998 the investigations of the justice of Zürich against Meili for allegedly breaking the laws on bank secrecy were cancelled,[4] but Meili did not return to his homeland until 2003. His marriage was divorced at the end of February 2002.[11] In September 2003 he visited his family in Switzerland. In the Swiss newspaper Die Weltwoche, Meili critized Fagan for having instrumentalized him and for having let him down. He claimed to have never received the US $1 million that he should have gotten[11] according to their agreements after the settlement with the Swiss banks in 1998.[12] According to a report by the Swiss newspaper Facts of March 17, 2005, he had, however, received US $750,000. (The newspaper did not state when this should have occurred.)[13] In April 2004, Fagan again launched a campaign against UBS and apparently again was supported by Meili in his endeavour.[14][15]
Meili studied communication sciences[16] right after his arrival in the United States. After completing his college degree[16] in May 2004[2] he found employment once more in the security sector. On May 14, 2005 he was naturalized as a US citizen.[16] In an interview with the Swiss newspaper Sonntagsblick on October 21, 2006, Meili re-iterated his criticism of Fagan and the Jewish organizations who had once championed him, stating again they had let him down. Meili, who still lives in Southern California, stated he worked for minimum wages.[17][18]
[edit] References
- ^ Swiss parliament: Parliamentary Initiative 96.434: Bundesbeschluss betreffend die historische und rechtliche Untersuchung des Schicksals der infolge der nationalsozialistischen Herrschaft in die Schweiz gelangten Vermögenswerte; in German. Entry in force December 14, 1996. This edict was the legal foundation of the Bergier commission, constituted on December 19, 1996. Articles 4, 5, and 7 made the destruction or withholding of documents relating to orphaned assets illegal. On the dates given, see Chronology: Switzerland in World War II – Detailed Overview of the years 1994-1996. URLs last accessed 2006-10-30.
- ^ a b Diermeier, P.: Meili - Mission zwischen Moral und Milliarden; in German. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zürich, 2003. ISBN 3-280-06009-5.
- ^ Swiss parliament: Chronology: Switzerland in World War II – Detailed Overview of the year 1997; in German. URL last accessed 2006-10-30.
- ^ a b Parliament of Zürich: Protocol of the session of Monday, April 20, 1998 (Word document). URL last accessed 2006-10-30.
- ^ Swiss Law: Bundesgesetz über die Banken und Sparkassen (Bankengesetz, BankG), article 47 (in German). URL last accessed 2006-11-03.
- ^ Schwarb, T.M.: "Ich verpfeife meine Firma" – Einführung in das Phänomen Whistle-Blowing, Fachhochschule Solothurn, July 1998. In German. URL last accessed 2006-11-03.
- ^ U.S. Congress: Bill S.768: A bill for the relief of Michel Christopher Meili, Giuseppina Meili, Mirjam Naomi Meili, and Davide Meili; private bill sponsored by Senator Alphonse D'Amato, signed into private law 105-1 by president Bill Clinton on July 29, 1997. URL last accessed 2006-10-30.
- ^ Swiss parliament, Summer session 1997: Question Schlüer and the response of Federal Councillor Flavio Cotti, who claimed that the U.S. was not granting the Meilis "asylum" but a facilitated fast-track immigration. URLs last accessed 2006-10-30.
- ^ PRNewswire: L.A. Jewish Community Honors Christoph Meili At May 8th Dinner at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, news agency report date May 1, 2000. URL last accessed 2006-10-30.
- ^ Swiss parliament: Chronology: Switzerland in World War II – Detailed Overview of the year 1998; in German. URL last accessed 2006-10-30.
- ^ a b Ain, S.: Amid Personal Hardship, Rescuer of Swiss Bank Documents to Receive Payment, World Jewry, February 28, 2002; United Jewish Communities. URL last accessed 2006-10-30.
- ^ Meili, Ch. (interview recorded by Diermeier, P.): Christoph Meili, Die Weltwoche 38/03; 2003. In German. URL last accessed 2006-10-30.
- ^ Facts, Der Bumerang, Facts 05/11, p. 10; March 17, 2005. URL last accessed 2006-10-30.
- ^ Basler Zeitung (a Swiss newspaper): Holocaust-Gelder - neue Vorwürfe gegen UBS, April 14, 2004; in German. URL last accessed 2006-10-30.
- ^ SF DRS, 10 vor 10, archived TV news broadcast from April 15, 2004. URL last accessed 2006-10-30.
- ^ a b c Basler Zeitung: Wachmann Meili wurde US-Bürger, May 14, 2005. In German. URL last accessed 2006-10-30.
- ^ Basler Zeitung: Banken-Coup: Christoph Meili möchte die Uhr zurückdrehen, October 2006. In German. URL last accessed 2006-10-30.
