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Today's Top News
Assange's Swiss Bank Account Closed
WikiLeaks founder has account – used for donations – closed by PostFinance owing to 'false information' about residency
The international pressure on Julian Assange increased today after the banking arm of the Swiss post office announced that it had closed the WikiLeaks founder's account because he had given "false information".
According to reports, Scotland Yard had received the paperwork required to arrest Julian Assange over allegations in Sweden. (Photograph: Lennart Preiss/AP) "PostFinance has ended its business relationship with … Julian Paul Assange," the bank said in a statement.
"The Australian citizen provided false information regarding his place of residence during the account opening process."
It said that although Assange had given his residence as an undisclosed address in Geneva, he could offer no proof of being a Swiss resident.
WikiLeaks had advertised the PostFinance account details online to "donate directly to the Julian Assange and other WikiLeaks Staff Defence Fund," giving an account name of "Assange Julian Paul, Geneve".
A spokesman for the bank told the Associated Press the account was closed this afternoon, but added that there would be "no criminal consequences" for misleading authorities.
"That's his money, he will get his money back," he said. "We just close the account and that's it."
PostFinance is the latest institution to sever its ties with Assange and WikiLeaks. Last week, Amazon.com withdrew its hosting of WikiLeaks' cables site and the WikiLeaks.org domain was taken offline by Everydns.net. On Saturday, PayPal, which is owned by the auction website eBay, froze WikiLeaks' account, saying it was being used for "illegal" activity.
It was also reported this afternoon that Scotland Yard had received the paperwork required to arrest Assange over allegations of sexual assault in Sweden.
But the Metropolitan police declined to comment on the claim, attributed by Press Association to unnamed sources.
Swedish prosecutors have sent an international arrest warrant to the Met, seeking the extradition of Assange for questioning on allegations – which he strongly denies – of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion.
Jennifer Robinson, one of his lawyers, said his legal team had heard nothing from the police to suggest that their client's arrest was imminent.
Assange, who is staying in Britain, has come under criticism from politicians in the US and around the world after his site started publishing excerpts from a cache of more than 250,000 secret US diplomatic cables last week.
Another of Assange's lawyers, Mark Stephens, yesterday denounced the extradition warrant as a "political stunt" and said his client would fight deportation to Sweden on the grounds that it could lead to him being handed over to the US, where senior politicians have called for him to be executed.
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19 Comments so far
Show AllHow the truth is adored by the powerful...
All the rhetoric of our official institutions rings so true in times like these.
Trust them. They all REALLY CARE™©®
Is this the same banking system that held Nazi money taken from Jews? The same system that holds hidden illegal bank accounts for tax evaders in the US. Same system used by drug lords and such without background checks. Now they want to freeze the acccount of someone that tells the truth show the world the truth. Oh well money talks to the Swiss like everyone else.
>Oh well money talks to the Swiss like everyone else.
Money sings sweet lullabies to the Swiss.
It won't be much longer now, folks.
Who want's to bet that in a few weeks, maybe a couple of months the MSM will have a 'breaking news' segment about the 'dangerous international criminal' who is involved in a 'hostage' situation... which of course ends in the inevitable death of Mr. Assange, (which is especially likely if he is a CIA patsy, as several sites are alleging. Can't have those nasty Lee Harvey Oswald style loose ends now, can we?).
All this is a demonstration that if you rock the Corporate Police State boat, you will be tossed over the side.
Non Serviam - I will not serve.
I don't get the 'patsy' part? I think he is for real. He knows what he is doing. How is he being played? As an excuse to shut down all communication on the planet, like a false flag event?
For false flag events, i have my money on 'code infra red' (my very own lingo) - alien invasion!
"...said his client would fight deportation to Sweden on the grounds that it could lead to him being handed over to the US, where senior politicians have called for him to be executed."
When I read about these shit-heads calling for executions, this is what goes through my mind:
Instant karma’s gonna get you
Gonna knock you right on the head
You better get yourself together
Pretty soon you’re gonna be dead.
I can only hope.
You know what the sad thing is? Those who are responsible for all this mess will manage to come out on top for the next round. Look at history, they have a way of always floating to the top. Time after time. The serfs are too stupid to remember.
In a world run by and for criminals, any innocent individual who stands up to them is hanged.
Does he really need a bank account when the people will cover all his debts directly?
I think he should turn himself in.
You can run but you can't hide and you can face up to charges in court.
This stuff about being executed in the US is just a lawyers reason for not facing the sex charges and there is more chance of the CIA or police taking him by force if he is on the run.
More chance of his being killed on the run.
Once they have their hands on him that'll be it. Legal excuse or not, he will never be free again.
Through his attorneys, he has stated repeatedly that he will turn himself in if they are looking for him. The problem is that they are not. There is no warrant. The Swiss prosecutor won't even talk to his lawyers. He's not hiding, they keep saying, he's protecting himself against those who wish to harm him. Knowing that the CIA is after him, can you blame the guy?
This is all blah blah blah to make the guy look bad. All part of the propaganda campaign to discredit him.
Oh, Jim, really........You haven't been keeping up with the facts on the ground here, have you?
We know the US has the power now and countries do what they say and how, so Assange doesn't have a chance. Bush lied and over a million died, lives and wrote a book, but one tells the truth and the CIA wants him dead.
The US Government hides billions of dollars in black ops budgets, but they won't allow Aussange a private bank account. Who's the criminal here?
Since the Swiss banks are being so diligent about enforcing the law, false information, etc, somebody should tell them that now is a good time to also close all those other bank accounts with the nine or so figures that may or may not belong to the best and brightest on Wall Street. I'm just saying. The Swiss could stand to make a bundle off all those that have given them false information ~wink, wink~
I think Mr Assange should give the world all the stuff... un-redacted. All those secrets and secret keepers outed in one fell swoop...those that oppose him would show no mercy or behave in an ethical manner...so give it to them in spades and sit back while the chips fall...or explode...in epic proportions...if it helps get rid of the plutocracy and the Friedman free market ideology then do it soon...don't wait for them to make their move...
Does anyone know why Sweden helped with renditions and why they are helping the Pentagon to go after Assange? What are they getting out of this? I don't understand why they're complicit in this nonsense. Is there some kind of power the U.S. has over Sweden?
Sweden is heavily dependent on exports of autos, telecommunications, construction equipment and other investment goods to the United States, which is currently the third largest Swedish export trade partner, and US companies are the most represented foreign companies in Sweden.