[Editor’s note: This document was released both as a State Department cable as part of its 1981 FOIA release, and as Serial 1375 of the FBI’s RYMUR release.
[The text for this document was released in 2014 by the now-defunct Wikileaks website at https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1978BERN06185_d.html. This URL may be available through the Wayback Machine.]
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BERN 06185 151715Z
ACTION ARA-15
INFO OCT-01 EUR-12 IO-14 ISO-00 JUSE-00 L-03 CIAE-00 INR-10 NSAE-00 INRE-00 SSO-00 SS-15 NSCE-00 PA-01 TRSE-00 FBIE-00 /071 W
——————018523 151717Z /43
O 151700Z DEC 78
FM AMEMBASSY BERN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC NIACT IMMEDIATE 7411
INFO AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY BONN IMMEDIATE
AMCONSUL MUNICH IMMEDIATE
USMISSION GENEVA IMMEDIATE
USICA WASHDC IMMEDIATE
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DEPT PASS JUSTICE
EO 12065: N/A
TAGS: EFIN, SZ
SUBJ: PEOPLES TEMPLE FUNDS IN SWITZERLAND
REF: BERN 6182
1. BASED ON ASSURANCES RECEIVED FROM CHARIG (OF WHICH NEITHER EMBASSY NOR LEGATT WERE AWARE) THAT US DEPT OF JUSTICW WOULD SUBMIT A FORMAL REQUEST PURSUANT TO US/SWISS TREATY ON MUTUAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS, SWISS FEDERAL AUTHORITIES HAVE ISSUED ORDER TO FREEZE ACCOUNTS AT UNION BANK OF SWITZ.
2. BLOCKING ACTION WILL BE IN EFFECT UNTIL JAN 15, 1979, BY WHICH TIME US DEPT OF JUSTICE IS OBLIGATED TO SUBMIT A FORMAL REQUEST. THE BANK HAS BEEN NOTIFIED AND HAS ADVISED SWISS AUTHORITIES THAT NO
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FUNDS HAVE YET BEEN REMOVED FROM THE ACCOUNTS.
3. I MUST INSIST THAT IN THE FUTURE THE PROPERLY ESTABLISHED CHANNELS FOR COMMUNICATION OF THIS KIND OF THING BE USED. IF WE HAD HAD THE AUTHORITY TO GIVE ASSURANCES WHICH CHARIG APPARENTLY HAD, I WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE THE SAME RESULT WHEN I CALLED AT THE JUSTICE MINISTRY TODAY.
WARNER [Marvin L. Warner, U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland]
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