Via El Pais newspaper: Uruguay’s Central Bank may be asked to step in when a request from abroad to lift bank secrecy is received.
http://www.elpais.com.uy/economia/noticias/pedido-exterior-levantar-secreto-quieren.html
Translation of main points in article:
The government of Uruguay is in favour of passing a law which would require the Central Bank to intervene before bank secrecy is lifted at the request of a foreign judge.
This is a reaction to a police raid on the Royal Bank of Canada offices in Uruguay, requested by an Argentinian judge investigating the links between player transfers in football, money laundering and tax evasion.
To mitigate the fears of investors about banking secrecy, the Central Bank would support passing a law which would require it to be the first involved when a foreign judge requests a raid or lifting banking secrecy.
A lawyer advising the Central Bank said that this would “make most people feel more confident”.
He added that “during a raid on a bank, information on hundreds or thousands of clients may be collected, who are not related to the case in question, and who may then sue the State for not complying with secrecy laws”.
Financial Secrecy Media Monitor 