Whilst there might be a fierce international effort to crack down on money laundering, illustrated by the Financial Action Task Force's blacklist of money laundering hotspots earlier this year and the ensuing US Treasury advisories (and into which Switzerland has inevitably been sucked), there is a great sense of unease and concern in Switzerland about the new tough line on money laundering which has emerged recently. The reason for this is not exactly difficult to pinpoint - Switzerland is worried that the customers of its famous banking industry will flee over the mountains.

Private banking is undoubtedly big business in this small country. It cannot really be said that private banking keeps the Swiss economy afloat - Switzerland will no doubt always be rich and prosperous with hugely successful corporations and a strong tourist industry - but its banking industry is a staple. Its 400 banks account for about a third of the world's offshore private banking market catering to wealthy individuals. Swiss banks are responsible for around 11 per cent of Switzerland's gross national product. The market share of Swiss banks is partly due to its strong tradition of bank secrecy (or privacy, the Swiss would say), and it is exactly this which has drawn people with highly dubious financial affairs to Switzerland. Abacha is just the latest in a long string of corrupt dictators, ranging from the late Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos and Haiti's Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, to Congo's Mobuto Sese Seko, who have all been important Swiss bank customers over the years.

It does seem somewhat strange that the Swiss Federal Banking Commission (FBC), whose aim must surely be to protect the Swiss banking industry, has chastised a number of its most important banks in full international view. There is no doubt that Switzerland is under mounting international pressure to clamp down on "dirty money" and the Swiss authorities have made a serious attempt to crack down on the use of Swiss banks to launder the proceeds of organised crime, drug trafficking and political corruption.

Whilst the FBC has ticked off the Swiss banks involved in the Abacha scandal, it has made every effort at damage limitation for fear of scaring off some wealthy Swiss bank customers who fear that their privacy might be threatened by Switzerland's anti-money laundering drive. The FBC's decision to cancel a planned press conference on the report, and only issue the report in German and French, suggests there has been pressure to limit the extent of the public relations damage of the report. In addition, the FBC's report highlighted the fact that the Abacha case was not just limited to Switzerland but involved other countries such as Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, in order to lift complete blame from Switzerland's shoulders, and no Swiss bank has lost its licence as a result of the FBC investigation. The FBC also still refuses to help investigations into the use of Swiss banks in foreign tax evasion cases, although it will lift bank secrecy in cases of tax fraud.

The publication of the FBC report coincides with the resignations of Daniel Thelesklaf, head of Switzerland's Money Laundering Reporting Centre, and his second-in-command. Cynics might say that the two left because they were doing their job too well - and this was starting to frighten away customers.