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Suisse Secrets

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Suisse secrets was a February 2022 leak of details of more than CHF 100 billion (roughly US$108.5bn, €95.5bn or £80bn) held in nominee accounts linked to over 30,000 clients of Credit Suisse,[1] the largest ever leak from a major Swiss bank.

Background

Credit Suisse headquarters in Zurich

On 20 February 2022, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that "over a year ago" it had received secret data through a secure digital mailbox on more than 30,000 Credit Suisse bank customers and their more than 18,000 accounts, which provide insights into the inner workings of the banking giant. The data was evaluated by 48 media companies from all over the world, among them the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, The Guardian, The New York Times and Le Monde.[2] Swiss news organisations did not participate in the investigation because a Swiss law concerning bank secrecy forbids the publication of banking secrets.[3] The data covers accounts and transactions from the 1940s up to 2010.[4]

Statement of the source

The data were leaked anonymously by a person or group, who wrote in an accompanying statement, that they felt Swiss banking secrecy laws were "immoral", that "Swiss banks ..[were] collaborators of tax evaders", because "a significant number of these accounts were opened with the sole purpose of hiding their holder's wealth from fiscal institutions and/or avoiding the payment of taxes on capital gains". They opined that Common Reporting Standards were a step in the right direction, but imposed "a disproportionate financial and infrastructural burden on developing nations", which "enables corruption and starves developing countries of much-needed tax revenue". The source stated that "responsibility for this state of affairs does not lie with Swiss banks but rather with the Swiss legal system".[2]

Notable people named

As a result of the leak, numerous people involved in crimes ranging from corruption and bribery to drug and human trafficking became known as Credit Suisse clients.[5]

Reactions

On February 20, 2022, Credit Suisse said it "strongly reject[ed]" allegations of wrongdoing.[30] Credit Suisse alleged it is "a coup against the Swiss banking industry" as a whole without saying who might be behind it.[31] On March 2, 2022, it became known that its investors had been asked to destroy documents linked to yacht loans of oligarchs.[32]

In February 2022, the European People's Party of the European Parliament proposed reviewing Swiss banking practices and money laundering status in response to the leaks, asking the European Commission to reclassify Switzerland as a high-risk country for financial crime.[33] Liam Proud wrote in Reuters, "stability and unimpeachable competence [...] seem to be lacking at Credit Suisse".[34]

Since leaking financial data is a criminal offense in Switzerland (even if it is in the public interest)[35] punishable with up to five years in jail, Swiss media argued in February 2022 that the banking secrecy law runs contrary to freedom of speech and freedom of the press in some cases.[36][37]

See also

References

  1. ^ "il vaticano di svizzero non ha solo le guardie - c'è anche la segreteria di stato tra i clienti..." m.dagospia.com. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Suisse-Secrets: The Statement of the Source". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 20 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  3. ^ Charlotte Tobitt (21 February 2022). "Swiss news outlets 'censored' in Suisse Secrets investigation". Press Gazette. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Credit Suisse leak shows bank held millions for heads of state, human rights abusers". The Hill. 20 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Pegg, David; Makortoff, Kalyeena; Chulov, Martin; Lewis, Paul; Harding, Luke (20 February 2022). "Revealed: Credit Suisse leak unmasks criminals, fraudsters and corrupt politicians". The Guardian.
  6. ^ Chulov, Martin (21 February 2022). "Revealed: king of Jordan used Swiss accounts to hoard massive wealth". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  7. ^ Drucker, Jesse; Hubbard, Ben (20 February 2022). "Vast Leak Exposes How Credit Suisse Served Strongmen and Spies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Aliaksei Aleksin". OCCRP, Suisse Secrets. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Pakistan Army generals, govt officials, businessmen were hiding wealth in Swiss banks #SuisseSecrets". Fact Focus. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  10. ^ Una filtración a gran escala revela que Credit Suisse tenía cuentas de clientes de alto riesgo (in Spanish)
  11. ^ a b c "False Spring: Credit Suisse Had Deep Ties to Arab Elite on Eve of Historic Uprisings". OCCRP and Süddeutsche Zeitung. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  12. ^ "The Guta family". OCCRP, Suisse Secrets. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  13. ^ Swami, Praveen (23 February 2022). "Whiff of corruption as 'Gang of Four' generals from Zia's Pakistan linked to Swiss bank accounts". ThePrint. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  14. ^ Cocuyo, Armando, and Efecto (21 February 2022). "Black Gold in Swiss Vaults: Venezuelan Elites Hid Stolen Oil Money in Credit Suisse". OCCRP. Retrieved 23 February 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "Gamal and Alaa Mubarak". OCCRP, Suisse Secrets. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  16. ^ a b OCCRP, Daraj, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and NDR (21 February 2022). "Bank of Spies: Credit Suisse Catered to Global Intelligence Figures". Retrieved 23 February 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ "Ex-Pak ISI chief named in 'Suisse secrets' list of global money laundering". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  18. ^ OCCRP. "Credit Suisse Banked And Financed Zimbabwean Fraudster In Deal That Saved Mugabe". Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  19. ^ "Qosim Rohbar". OCCRP, Suisse Secrets. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  20. ^ Dojčinović (OCCRP/KRIK), Stevan (21 February 2022). "Credit Suisse Opened Accounts for Serbian Drug Lord Known as "Misha Banana"". Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  21. ^ OCCRP and SüddeutscheZeitung (21 February 2022). "Egyptian Tycoon Hussein Salem's Ties to Credit Suisse Weathered Decades of Scandal". Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Armen Sarkissian | Suisse Secrets | OCCRP". cdn.occrp.org. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  23. ^ "Eduard Seidel, Convicted Bribe Peddler". OCCRP, Suisse Secrets. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  24. ^ OCCRP and LeMonde (21 February 2022). "Leading Taiwan Politician Had Secret Credit Suisse Account At Time Of Major Defense Corruption Scandal". Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  25. ^ "Nadezhda Tokayeva". OCCRP, Suisse Secrets. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  26. ^ OCCRP (22 February 2022). "Sons of Azerbaijani Strongman Vasif Talibov Received Millions From Money Laundering Systems". Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  27. ^ OCCRP, IRPI, and the Miami Herald (22 February 2022). "'Ndrangheta-Linked Broker Banked at Credit Suisse". Retrieved 22 February 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  28. ^ "Nervis Gerardo Villalobos Cárdenas". OCCRP, Suisse Secrets. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  29. ^ "Leading Taiwan Politician Had Secret Credit Suisse Account At Time Of Major Defense Corruption Scandal". occrp.org. OCCRP. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  30. ^ "Credit Suisse denies wrongdoing after client data leaked to media". Reuters. 20 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  31. ^ "Pluie de critiques contre l'enquête "Suisse Secrets"". L’Agefi.
  32. ^ Times, Robert Smith in London, Financial. "Credit Suisse asks investors to destroy documents linked to oligarch yacht loans". Retrieved 5 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ "EU Parliament's top group suggests blacklisting Switzerland after Credit Suisse leaks". Reuters. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  34. ^ Proud, Liam (21 February 2022). "Credit Suisse leak is blow to bank's wealth appeal".
  35. ^ "Swiss parliamentarians refuse to overhaul banking secrecy laws".
  36. ^ Matthew Allen. "Swiss banking secrecy law clashes with freedom of speech". Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  37. ^ "UN rapporteur calls out Switzerland for 'criminalisation of journalism'".

External links

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