Switzerland Praised By US Politician Over Money Laundering Controls

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

01 November 2001

Although the Swiss government has undergone countless trials and tribulations over the last few months, it will doubtless have been heartened by the observation made by the former US Deputy Treasury Secretary, Stuart Eizenstat, that in terms of anti-money laundering iniatives and the rooting out of terrorist and criminal finance, Switzerland 'can almost point the finger at us [the United States]'.

The politician leapt to the offshore financial centre's defense when a Democrat senator questioned Switzerland's sincerity in the international fight against money laundering, and recent events have demonstrated the truth in his words. Although, as the newly appointed head of the Swiss Money Laundering Control Authority, Dina Balleyguier, pointed out earlier this month: 'Everyone remembers cases like Abacha, and it will be hard to convince the international community that our banks and financial intermediaries are really vigilant now,' it is worthy of note that of all the countries implicated in the Abacha scandal, only Switzerland 'named and shamed' 19 banks.

During EU negotiations over information exchange regarding non-resident savings accounts, Swiss Finance Minister Kaspar Villiger was blunt in his assertion that 'banking secrecy is not negotiable'. However, although the jurisdiction does take banking clients' rights to privacy very seriously, in an anti-money laundering contest with the United States, it would probably not come off too badly. Unlike the US, Switzerland's anti-laundering and reporting legislation applies to attorneys, stockbrokers and other financial institutions, and Swiss banks are obliged to give 'unlimited assistance' to US investigators pursuing crimes also punishable under Swiss law.

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