Swiss banker arrested for helping WikiLeaks

Swiss police have arrested a banker who claims to have handed details of rich tax cheats to WikiLeaks, prosecutors said Thursday.

Rudolf Elmer was arrested late Wednesday shortly after a Zurich court found him guilty of coercion and breaking Switzerland's strict bank secrecy laws in an earlier case.

"He is in police detention and will be questioned today," Zurich chief prosecutor Peter Pellegrini told The Associated Press.

Pellegrini said the new probe centres on Elmer's trip to London on Monday, during which the former Julius Baer banker gave two data CDs to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Elmer said he is trying to expose a widespread system of tax evasion by rich business people and politicians using offshore branches of Swiss banks.

In the earlier case, Elmer was handed a fine of more than 6,000 Swiss francs ($6,260 Cdn), payable if he offends again in the next two years.