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Swiss banker detained in connection with Hoeness case


    MUNICH/WARSAW (Reuters) - Police in Warsaw detained a Swiss banker on Wednesday in connection with the recent conviction of former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness for tax evasion, German and Polish authorities said on Thursday.

    Hoeness was sentenced in March to a 3-1/2-year prison term for evading 28.5 million euros (22.5 million pounds) of taxes and quit as president and chairman of Bayern Munich, the club he made into one of the world's most successful football dynasties.

    He used an account at Swiss bank Vontobel for complex currency transactions that helped him reap gains in the millions of euros, it emerged during his trial.

    A spokeswoman for Vontobel confirmed on Thursday that an employee of the bank had been arrested abroad but declined to further comment.

    The man detained by police in Warsaw on Wednesday was released on bail following a court hearing on Thursday, according to Warsaw prosecutors and the Warsaw Regional Court.

    He has been told not to leave Poland and was forced to relinquish his passport, a court spokeswoman told Reuters.

    He is the latest Swiss banker to face legal troubles over Switzerland's banking secrecy. Former UBS executive Raoul Weil is currently on trial in the United States for his alleged role in the Swiss bank's illegal offshore operations that helped thousands of Americans evade taxes.

    (Reporting by Joern Poltz and Wiktor Szary; Additional reporting by Oliver Hirt in Zurich; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Jonathan Gould and David Evans)