Tag Archive: Law and order

Swiss banks accused of hiding data behind secrecy laws

2023-02-20

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2023-02-20

Swiss banking secrecy used to be the bane of foreign countries trying to catch tax cheats. Now it’s the turn of Swiss journalists and historians to cry foul of laws that can hinder their work.

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Commodities trader Trafigura stung by ‘CHF500 million fraud’

2023-02-12

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2023-02-12

Swiss commodities trading company Trafigura says it has been defrauded to the tune of $577 million (CHF530 million) by fake nickel shipments. The firm has launched legal action against a Dubai-based metals trader and the group of companies he runs out of the Middle East emirate.“

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Court increases fines against Swiss art collector

2022-11-03

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2022-11-03

A court in Zurich has rejected an appeal by the renowned Swiss art collector and financier Urs Schwarzenbach in two cases of tax evasion in connection with the import of works of art.

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Swiss customs crack down on fake medicinal imports

2022-07-21

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2022-07-21

Switzerland’s customs and border security authorities have seized more than 230 packages of illegally imported counterfeit medical products.

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Long shadow of Russian money raises tricky questions for Swiss bankers

2022-06-21

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2022-06-21

January used to be a big month for Swiss bankers and their Russian clients. Many of the Moscow elite had made a tradition of coming to the Alps for the orthodox new year, skiing with their families, then catching up with their financial consiglieri.

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Former top Swiss banker convicted for fraud

2022-04-13

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2022-04-13

A Swiss court has sentenced former Raiffeisen bank chief Pierin Vincenz to almost four years in prison for fraud, forgery of documents and criminal mismanagement. Judges on Wednesday handed down a jail sentence of 43 months as well as a suspended fine of CHF840,000 ($899,858). Vincenz was also ordered to refund CHF236,000.

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Swiss privacy technology tackles rampant online intrusion

2022-04-03

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2022-04-03

Anyone using the internet is being watched, and possibly manipulated, via a trail of digital breadcrumbs known as metadata. Two Swiss companies, one backed by former United States military whistleblower Chelsea Manning, are setting up smokescreens to confuse prying eyes and protect web users from big tech companies and government surveillance.

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Victims of CHF800 million fraud scheme feel short-changed

2022-01-18

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2022-01-18

Administrators clearing up a CHF800 million ($877 million) collapsed pyramid scheme have managed to recover just CHF12.7 million from one of Switzerland’s largest fraud cases.

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US charge extradited Russian businessman with hacking, insider trading

2021-12-23

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2021-12-23

The Russian businessman extradited from Switzerland to the United States and four other Russians have been charged with carrying out a $82-million (CHF75 million) insider trading scheme using data stolen during hacks of US computer networks.

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UBS bank appeals French tax evasion fine a second time

2021-12-21

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2021-12-21

Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, says it will once again appeal a fine handed out by a French court for tax evasion offences.

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UBS fails to overturn French tax evasion guilty verdict

2021-12-13

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2021-12-13

An appeal court in Paris has confirmed that Swiss bank UBS is guilty of having assisted French tax evaders - but reduced the penalty from €4.5 billion (CHF4.7 billion) to €1.8 billion.

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More Swiss firms facing cyber-attacks and ransom demands

2021-10-10

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2021-10-10

Ransomware attacks by hackers continue to increase sharply, with some 2,700 Swiss firms falling victim over the past year, Beobachter magazine has reported.

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‘Pandora Papers’ shed more light on activities of Swiss financial advisors

2021-10-04

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2021-10-04

A new set of leaked documents, dubbed the Pandora Papers, has again exposed the role of Swiss lawyers, accountants and consultants in managing the wealth of powerful clients.

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US charges Swiss finance firm and six people with tax evasion

2021-10-01

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2021-10-01

Six people and a Swiss financial services firm have been charged in the United States with helping clients evade taxes on $60 million (CHF56 million) of assets.

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Corruption trackers flag increased global money laundering risks

2021-09-14

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2021-09-14

The global community is slipping in its efforts to tackle money laundering and terrorist finance, a Swiss corruption watchdog warned on Monday.

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Ex-roads ministry worker ‘paid CHF2,000 a month’ to rig emissions data

2021-04-26

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2021-04-26

A former employee at the Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) and two board members of a vehicle exporter have been charged with fraudulently manipulating data to avoid CO2 emissions sanctions.

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How vaccine passports may make Swiss e-ID rejection obsolete

2021-03-17

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2021-03-17

UN economist Ian Richards argues that Swiss voters' fears of a proposal for an e-ID may be swept away as more countries see the benefits of digitising documents, including vaccine passports.

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Bill Browder threatens legal action over Swiss bank accounts linked to Magnitsky scandal

2020-11-29

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2020-11-29

High-profile Kremlin critic and investor Bill Browder has threatened Credit Suisse and UBS with legal action for breaching US sanctions if they unfreeze accounts belonging to three Russian clients accused of a huge tax fraud against his investment company.

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Switzerland and UK balance sovereignty with EU market access

2020-09-25

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2020-09-25

Britain’s controversial Internal Market Bill has prompted Switzerland’s former chief negotiator with the EU, Michael Ambühl, to examine the thorny issue of sovereignty in EU talks.

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Doubts over EU regulations deal raise prospect of higher City costs

2020-07-14

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2020-07-14

On a Monday morning, just over a year ago, investment firms across the EU found they were no longer allowed to trade on the Swiss stock exchange. It happened almost overnight — simply because Brussels refused to extend a regulatory “equivalence” deal with Switzerland, which gave each side free access to the other’s markets.

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