Swiss Post to shut bank account of Wikileaks' Assange

Dec 6, 2010, 20:57 GMT

Geneva - Swiss Post announced Monday it will close down the bank account of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, saying he gave false information when he opened the account.

'PostFinance will terminate its business relationship with Julian Assange,' according to a statement which used the official name of the bank run by the post office.

The announcement about the account was the latest blow to the site, which last week lost control of its domain name wikileaks.org and its ability to receive PayPal donations.

It is employing 70 other internet domains in various nations as 'mirror sites' to keep broadcasting leaked US diplomatic cables, including the primary mirror in Switzerland.

WikiLeaks had asked on its website for donations to be sent to the Postfinance account for the so-called 'Julian Assange Defence Fund.'

The statement from the Swiss Post said Assange gave 'false information' regarding his domicile when he opened the account.

The post's bank is only open to residents of Switzerland or Swiss citizens, Andrey had warned over the weekend.

Assange, according to Swiss Post, is an Australian national and could not prove he lived in the Alpine country.

The WikiLeaks founder is believed to be in undisclosed locations in Britain, saying he is worried about being harmed, while he is also wanted for questioning in Sweden in regards to sexual offences.

The whistleblower group is gradually publishing 251,287 US embassy cables, the latest trove of confidential US documents it has made public.

Last month, Assange said he might seek asylum in Switzerland. The US ambassador to Bern warned, in interviews over the weekend with Swiss media, not to grant the WikiLeak's founder protected status in the country.