Zurich (awp/sda/dpa) – Credit Suisse has for years accepted autocrats, drug lords, would-be war criminals and human traffickers as clients. At least that’s what research reported on Sunday by the Süddeutsche Zeitung” (SZ) suggests, based on an anonymous source it does not know.
The German newspaper collaborated with the German channels NDR, WDR and several international media, including the Guardian, Le Monde and the New York Times to examine and interpret the data in question.
In a statement sent to Keystone-SDA, the bank with two veils categorically rejected the accusations of these “commercial practices” which the Swiss Secrets network echoed.
The actions in question can mostly be explained historically and date back in part to the 1940s. They are based on incomplete and selective information, out of context.
For legal reasons, the bank cannot comment on potential customer relationships. It takes such accusations seriously and will instruct an internal Task Force to investigate with the support of external specialists.
30,000 customers
The documents mentioned by SZ relate to the accounts of more than 30,000 clients worldwide. Suisse Secrets indicates that it is based on data from 18,000 accounts for a total of 100 billion dollars.
According to the data, criminals would have opened accounts or could have maintained accounts when the bank should have known long ago that it was dealing with criminals. Internal data at the bank show that many heads of state and government, ministers, heads of the secret services as well as oligarchs and cardinals were clients of the bank.
Swiss media not involved
The Süddeutsche Zeitung reviewed data about Credit Suisse together with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) as well as 46 media partners around the world.
Swiss media such as Tamedia have given up participating in the research because, since 2015, journalists who publish leaked bank data risk criminal prosecution, Tamedia said in a tweet on Sunday evening.
UN rapporteur for freedom of expression Irene Khan has, according to Tamedia newspapers, expressed concern that journalists could be criminally prosecuted for publishing bank details in the public interest, saying that it violates human rights. It will contact the Federal Council on this subject.
The source behind the SZ article believes that Swiss banking secrecy is immoral. The financial privacy excuse is a smokescreen to hide the damaging role of Swiss banks as collaborators in tax evasion.
rp