Tax authorities are investigating the Swiss bank accounts of certain Bulgarian nationals suspected of tax evasion, according to a report in 24 Chassa.

Germany, which recently obtained from undisclosed sources the Swiss bank details of suspected tax dodgers, has apparently informed Bulgarian fiscal authorities of the names of some of its nationals in the database, National Revenue Agency (NRA) chief Krasimir Stefanov told the newspaper. The amount is said to be worth around 200 million euro.

The latest development comes after Bulgaria’s National Revenue Agency (NRA) had written to Germany’s federal ministry of finance to request information about Bulgarian bank accounts in Switzerland. This initial communique had followed an announcement from the German finance ministry that it was taking steps to get information about Swiss bank accounts held by Germans.

In the most recent report on the matter Stefanov stopped short of naming or disclosing the number of the Bulgarian suspects concerned. He did say, however, that the amounts on their Swiss accounts would be compared to the wealth they have declared in Bulgaria and the taxes they have paid.

It was not clear whether Bulgaria has already received the information in question and whether it was going to pay for it. Stefanov said his agency agreed to automatically provide the German tax authorities with data on the revenues of German nationals in Bulgaria.

Failure to declare one's income and tax evasion are punishable by up to six years in prison in Bulgaria. Voluntarily admitting the crime does not necessarily lead to leniency unlike, for example, in Germany, where some prominent people have come clean about their tax debts.