Switzerland Today
Greetings from Zurich!
The role of Swiss banks in managing Russian assets has resurfaced again, thanks to another leak of client data to the media. Read more on these revelations below.
But first, the other news in Switzerland.
In the news: A Bishop’s health scare, wolf poaching and the fight for truth.
- Charles Morerod, the Bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, was rushed to hospital yesterday after a bicycle accident. This follows (but is unconnected to) the publication of a damning report into Catholic Church abuses.
- The Swiss parliament will soon amend rules to allow mothers to attend to parliamentary work without losing maternity leave pay.
- Foie gras imports can continue to Switzerland, but only if the controversial food product is clearly labelled.
- NGOs and the media are joining forces to fight back against punitive lawsuits issued to suppress information that could damage economic interests.
Oligarch bankers
The Tages Anzeiger has accused more Swiss banksExternal link of harbouring the assets of Russians close to Vladimir Putin and who support the invasion of Ukraine.
The latest revelations are supported by client data leaked from a Swiss asset management firm, which is connected to several well-known banks.
Julius Bär is accused of managing tens of millions of assets belonging to telecoms tycoon and Putin confidant Leonid Reiman until as late as 2021.
In 2006, a Zurich tribunal accused Reiman, who was Putin’s Minister of Information and Communications between 2000 and 2008, of running a large-scale money laundering operation.
Other Swiss banks, such as Reyl, Pictet and Lombard Odier have also come under the microscope of the media investigation – and all refused to comment on various client relations.
I’ve already written about the impact of sanctions against Russia on the Swiss finance centre, which is now under more pressure.
Swiss public broadcaster SRF also notes that there is growing pressure from domestic economic and political circles for Switzerland to join a G7 taskforce on Russian sanctionsExternal link.
The Tages Anzeiger may be sticking its neck out by basing some of its reporting on leaked financial data. The Swiss Banking Secrecy Act threatens the media with five years behind bars for dabbling in stolen data.
Some parliamentarians believe media should be exempt from this punitive provision if the reporting is in “good faith”. The Tages Anzeiger may well be testing that principle.
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