Rudolf Elmer: 5 Facts on the Swiss WikiLeaks Informant

Rudolf Elmer admits that he's made some "big mistakes."

Among his legal missteps, Elmer supplied WikiLeaks with confidential documents on wealthy tax evaders. Zurich's Regional Court found the former Swiss banker guilty of that offense on Wednesday.

Judge Sebastian Aeppli fined Elmer over 6,000 Swiss francs ($6,000), opting not to impose a prison sentence.

But while Elmer has been found guilty, that doesn't change things for WikiLeaks. Julian Assange says that the banking information will be treated as any other document obtained by WikiLeaks, adding that the organization could take several weeks to review the material before making it public.

While we wait for the other shoe to drop, Surge Desk offers five facts on Rudolf Elmer.

1. He had a prominent position in the banking world
Elmer spent nearly 20 years with the Swiss bank Julius Baer, managing the group's Caribbean operations for eight years until being dismissed in 2002.

2. This isn't his first run-in with the law
In 2005, Elmer was reportedly detained for a month on allegations including falsifying documents and threatening individuals at the bank.

3. He has access to a lot of dirt
Elmer's stash of documents ranged from over "100 trusts, dozens of companies and hedge funds and more than 1,300 individuals," his lawyer Jack Blum told The New York Times. The IRS, a Senate subcommittee on tax evasion and investigators for former Manhattan district attorney Robert Morgenthau top the list of recipients that have received information from Elmer.

4. He's not trying to take down any single bank
According to The Guardian, Elmer recently said that:

"What I am objecting to is not one particular bank, but a system of structures. I have worked for major banks other than Julius Baer, and the one thing on which I am absolutely clear is that the banks know, and the big boys know, that money is being secreted away for tax-evasion purposes, and other things such as money-laundering -- although these cases involve tax evasion."

5. He has the Guardian's attention
The British newspaper called Elmer the "most important and boldest whistle-blower in Swiss banking history."

More WikiLeaks coverage from Surge Desk:
What WikiLeaks Tells Us About Tunisia's New President
Pro-WikiLeaks 'Hacktivists' Hit MasterCard; Is Sarah Palin Next?
WikiLeaks Iraq: The 4 Most Shocking Revelations

Follow Surge Desk on Twitter.