https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Switzerland in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed A Swiss parliamentary committee on Friday rejected calls to overhaul banking secrecy rules that critics warn stifle free speech in the country. https://www.thelocal.ch/20220507/no-need-to-boost-switzerlands-press-freedoms-parliamentary-committee Sat, 07 May 2022 13:52:58 +0200 no-need-to-boost-switzerlands-press-freedoms-parliamentary-committee A former Swiss bank chief, accused of illegally pocketing millions and visiting strip clubs on company expenses, has been jailed for nearly four years, the ATS news agency reported Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20220414/swiss-bank-boss-who-expensed-strip-club-visits-jailed Thu, 14 Apr 2022 12:21:41 +0200 swiss-bank-boss-who-expensed-strip-club-visits-jailed Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse said Thursday that its exposure to Russia totalled over $900 million at the end of last year, with "minimal" links to individuals sanctioned over the Ukraine war. https://www.thelocal.ch/20220310/almost-one-billion-francs-credit-suisse-reveals-exposure-to-russia Thu, 10 Mar 2022 13:34:42 +0100 almost-one-billion-francs-credit-suisse-reveals-exposure-to-russia The Swiss Secrets scandal threatens to shift the country back to the European Union’s blacklist - but what does that mean for Switzerland? https://www.thelocal.ch/20220222/swiss-secrets-what-would-eu-blacklisting-mean-for-switzerland Tue, 22 Feb 2022 11:21:28 +0100 swiss-secrets-what-would-eu-blacklisting-mean-for-switzerland As the Swiss banking sector is rocked by yet another scandal, with the publication of damaging allegations against Credit Suisse by international media, reactions in Switzerland have ranged from outrage to defensiveness. https://www.thelocal.ch/20220221/analysis-how-the-latest-banking-scandal-has-damaged-switzerlands-reputation Mon, 21 Feb 2022 18:35:56 +0100 analysis-how-the-latest-banking-scandal-has-damaged-switzerlands-reputation As one of the world’s largest offshore financial centres, Switzerland is a magnet for money laundering. https://www.thelocal.ch/20220218/opinion-why-switzerland-is-failing-in-its-fight-against-money-laundering Fri, 18 Feb 2022 17:01:07 +0100 opinion-why-switzerland-is-failing-in-its-fight-against-money-laundering The EU removed Switzerland and four other countries from its grey list of tax havens on Thursday, giving one of the global hubs for multinational tax schemes the all clear. https://www.thelocal.ch/20191010/switzerland-no-longer-a-tax-haven-the-un-says Thu, 10 Oct 2019 12:28:54 +0200 switzerland-no-longer-a-tax-haven-the-un-says Dominant digital currency bitcoin should not be allowed to become the Swiss bank account of the modern era used to hide illicit activity, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20180113/bitcoin-shouldnt-become-the-new-swiss-bank-account-mnuchin Sat, 13 Jan 2018 13:49:06 +0100 bitcoin-shouldnt-become-the-new-swiss-bank-account-mnuchin Swiss banks are more satisfied about their performance and bullish than a year ago despite concerns over the impact evaporating banking secrecy could have on their balance sheets, a survey says. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150108/swiss-banks-bullish-about-coming-year-poll Thu, 08 Jan 2015 21:05:49 +0100 swiss-banks-bullish-about-coming-year-poll Switzerland's banking sector, facing the end of the secrecy that was once the bedrock of its business, is turning to China as it seeks new markets for the future. https://www.thelocal.ch/20141210/swiss-banks-eye-chinese-wealth Wed, 10 Dec 2014 11:47:00 +0100 swiss-banks-eye-chinese-wealth Many of Germany's rich, powerful and famous have hit trouble recently, not because of drugs or sexual escapades, but because the taxman has found out about their Swiss bank accounts. https://www.thelocal.ch/20140209/german-celebs-in-trouble-over-swiss-accounts Sun, 09 Feb 2014 12:30:00 +0100 german-celebs-in-trouble-over-swiss-accounts Three hundred or so Swiss banks had until the end of Monday to decide whether to hand over records to Washington, in a bid to skirt US legal action for assisting American tax dodgers. https://www.thelocal.ch/20131209/banks Mon, 09 Dec 2013 23:03:00 +0100 banks Switzerland has returned to Brazil $4.8 million stashed in Geneva by a senior judge found guilty of a string of corruption offences. https://www.thelocal.ch/20130709/swiss-return-to-brazil-corrupt-judges-millions Wed, 10 Jul 2013 01:23:00 +0200 swiss-return-to-brazil-corrupt-judges-millions Swiss banks paid just over $6 million last year to the heirs of people who left dormant accounts under a system created after a scandal over money left by Jews during the Second World War. https://www.thelocal.ch/20130704/swiss-banks-pay-heirs-of-dormant-accounts Thu, 04 Jul 2013 18:12:00 +0200 swiss-banks-pay-heirs-of-dormant-accounts Credit Suisse faces a penalty of $1.2 billion (1.1 billion francs) from US authorities over cases of tax evasion involving American clients, a Swiss lawyer estimates. https://www.thelocal.ch/20130624/credit-suisse-faces-12-billion-us-penalty Mon, 24 Jun 2013 12:50:00 +0200 credit-suisse-faces-12-billion-us-penalty Switzerland, currently in the process of restituting assets to several former autocratic countries, is working on a new law aimed at simplifying the process of freezing and unblocking such funds, the government said on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20130523/bern-seeks-new-frozen-dictator-funds-law Thu, 23 May 2013 11:07:56 +0200 bern-seeks-new-frozen-dictator-funds-law Bayern Munich's president Uli Hoeness, at the centre of a German tax evasion scandal, was temporarily arrested last month during a search of his home and released on bail worth five million euros ($6.5 million), said a media report on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20130423/munich-football-boss-arrested-over-swiss-account Tue, 23 Apr 2013 23:08:00 +0200 munich-football-boss-arrested-over-swiss-account The president of German football club Bayern Munich, Uli Hoeness, may have used a Swiss bank account to hide more than €10 million ($13 million) from tax authorities, according to a Sunday media report. https://www.thelocal.ch/20130421/munich-fc-boss-in-swiss-bank-tax-probe Mon, 22 Apr 2013 01:03:00 +0200 munich-fc-boss-in-swiss-bank-tax-probe Hundreds of German tax inspectors launched nationwide raids on Tuesday, based on 40,000 data sets on suspected tax-dodgers in Swiss banks from a CD authorities had bought for €4 million ($5.3 million), officials said. https://www.thelocal.ch/20130416/germans-use-swiss-bank-data-for-tax-raids Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:19:00 +0200 germans-use-swiss-bank-data-for-tax-raids Switzerland's supreme court on Thursday ordered Austrian bank UniCredit to pay Germany over 254 million euros ($333 million) to end a legal battle dating back to the fall of the Berlin Wall two decades ago. https://www.thelocal.ch/20130411/top-swiss-court-orders-return-of-millions-stolen-from-germany Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:56:00 +0200 top-swiss-court-orders-return-of-millions-stolen-from-germany