BERLIN, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Germany and Gibraltar signed an agreement on Thursday to share bank information as part of an international crackdown on tax evasion, the German Finance Ministry said.
The British colony had long said it complied with European Union rules on regulation, transparency and exchange of information, but came under pressure when the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) placed it on its "grey list" of tax havens earlier this year.
"The treaty on information exchange between Germany and Gibraltar allows Germany to access information necessary for the enforcement of German tax law," the ministry said in a statement.
The move made Gibraltar, a tiny territory on the tip of the Iberian Peninsula south of Spain, the latest jurisdiction to roll back strict banking privacy laws to comply with the Paris-based OECD.
The agreement signed with Germany will be particularly tough on tax dodgers as it allows authorities to monitor bank data without establishing a particular suspicion or launching criminal proceedings.
The treaty will also allow German authorities to request older data for use in criminal tax proceedings, the ministry said, adding that it considered the agreement to be based on OECD standards.
Gibraltar was listed on the most recent OECD tax haven grey list in July under the heading: "Jurisdictions that have committed to the internationally agreed tax standard, but have not yet substantially implemented." (Reporting by Brian Rohan; Editing by Andy Bruce)