Zurich: A former Julius Baer banker found guilty on Monday of breaching Swiss banking secrecy laws by handing over data about offshore clients to WikiLeaks will avoid jail time.

The trial of Rudolf Elmer, 59, a self-described "Gandhi of Swiss tax law", comes as banking secrecy in Switzerland is crumbling under international pressure from countries trying to recoup lost tax revenue.

Found guilty of breaching secrecy laws ... Former Swiss private banker Rudolf Elmer arrives before a trial at the high court in Zurich. Credit:Reuters

The former senior executive at Zurich-based Baer's Cayman Islands office was accused of passing confidential information to WikiLeaks on two occasions, one in 2008 and another in 2011.

Elmer was found guilty of the charges relating to 2008 but not guilty in relation to 2011. He was also found guilty of forging a letter from Baer to German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2007.