VIENNA, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - Fifty-seven Austrians have reported themselves to the police for tax evasion via Liechtenstein in the hope of receiving a more lenient punishment, Finance Minister Wilhelm Molterer said Wednesday.

In Austria, people can escape criminal proceedings and must only pay a fine if they voluntarily own up to tax fraud before being investigated.

The ministry said the names of some 150 Austrians were on a list of customers of a Liechtenstein-based bank obtained by the German authorities as part of their investigations into tax evasion.

In Austria, suspects believed to have evaded more than 75,000 euros (117,000 dollars) in taxes are subject to criminal prosecution.

Vienna is still waiting for detailed data from Berlin about the amplitude of the cases before deciding whether to pursue criminal proceedings, Molterer said.

Germany and Austria systematically exchange tax data.

Cases of tax evasion via Liechtenstein came to light in Germany in February, triggering similar revelations in a number of other countries, notably Britain, France and Italy.

The number of suspects in Germany is as many as 1,000 and there are about 390 in Italy.