Greek editor arrested over list of Swiss accounts

ATHENS (REUTERS) - Greek police have arrested the editor of a weekly magazine for publishing a list of more than 2,000 names of wealthy Greeks who have placed money in Swiss bank accounts, police said on Sunday.

The so-called "Lagarde List" - given to Greece by French authorities in 2010 with names of Greek account holders at HSBC in Switzerland to be probed for possible tax evasion - has been a topic of heated speculation in the Greek media. It is named after International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, who was French finance minister when it was handed over.

"Hot Doc" magazine published 2,059 names, including those of some well-known business and political figures on Saturday, who it said together held deposits worth 2 billion euros (S$3 billion) until 2007.

Editor Costas Vaxevanis was arrested for violating laws on releasing private data police said. He was released pending trial after appearing before a prosecutor.