Almost 200 Spaniards under investigation for tax evasion

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Spain's Tax Agency Director Luis Pedroche. Photo: EFE

Spanish tax authorities say 198 people are under investigation for tax evasion as part of a wide-ranging probe centering on transactions in Liechtenstein.

Spain's Tax Agency says prosecutors have been given the names of holders and beneficiaries of accounts in the principality. The agency, a part of the Finance Ministry, made the disclosure Tuesday.

The wider case broke in February when it emerged that Germany's intelligence service paid an informant for a CD-ROM believed to contain 1,400 names of alleged tax cheats.

Liechtenstein's LGT Group says it believes the data were stolen from its subsidiary, LGT Treuhand.

The case prompted investigations in Germany, France, Britain, Australia, Italy, the U.S., Spain and elsewhere.