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Illegal money
Cabinet drafts unique law on dictators’ assets
Cabinet has presented a draft bill setting the rules for the freezing and restoring assets obtained illegally by foreign dictators and deposited in Switzerland. If approved by parliament, it will be the first law of its kind in the world. [...]
Construction halted
Court ruling on holiday homes sparks controversy
Crash report
Driver error likely cause of fatal bus crash
New deal
Switzerland is first European stop for Chinese PM
The new Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has chosen to make Switzerland his first European destination, emphasising the historically good relationship between the two countries, which earlier this month agreed on a free trade pact. [...]
Human rights report
Amnesty flags Swiss asylum law
Syrian refugee crisis
Refugees struggle to survive in new Lebanese homes
Swiss banking woes
Minister says end to US tax dispute in sight
Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf says a resolution may be not far off to end a long-running dispute with the United States over Swiss banks accused of helping wealthy Americans evade billions of dollars of taxes. [...]
Changes at the top
Surprise shake-up marks Glencore Xstrata meeting
Formula for success
Chinese parents drive baby milk powder boom
Basel’s Schola Cantorum
Old music becomes new art
On a sunny day in Basel, delicate tunes waft through the windows of the Schola Cantorum, the world’s oldest institution for the study of “old music”. Eighty years on, that term - and the school’s role - is constantly being re-defined. [...]
Aerial mapping
Successful takeoff for Swiss commercial drones
Switzerland’s flying robots used for 3D aerial mapping have been a global commercial success. But security and privacy concerns could curb the enthusiasm of a sector which is in full swing.
[...]Cancer discovery
New imaging gives insight into tumours’ travels
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In depth
Up for debate
Should Switzerland give up banking secrecy?
22 commentsIn recent years, the Swiss financial sector has been under increasing international pressure to bend its bank secrecy laws. Can and should Switzerland do more to defend its bank secrecy? If so, at what cost?
The Swiss bank secrecy law, in force since 1934, concerns the protection of bank customers’ private information. Swiss banks have profited from the law reaping billions in foreign un-taxed assets.
In recent years, those profits became problems for the Swiss banking sector as the United States and several European countries lined up to protest and recoup tax money lost in Swiss bank accounts. Are those foreign attacks justified, or are they just intended to weaken the Swiss financial sector?
Under siege
Switzerland pays the price for banking secrecy
Attacks from European governments, investigations against Swiss banks in the United States and international arrest warrants against bankers - in the space of just a few years, banking secrecy has turned into a costly burden. [...]
Withholding tax
A sign of the future or merely buying time?
Switzerland is trying to convince as many countries as possible to accept withholding tax deals in an effort to avoid an automatic exchange of information. The success of this strategy hinges largely on Germany’s response. [...]
Under siege
Switzerland pays the price for banking secrecy
Attacks from European governments, investigations against Swiss banks in the United States and international arrest warrants against bankers - in the space of just a few years, banking secrecy has turned into a costly burden. [...]
Withholding tax
A sign of the future or merely buying time?
Switzerland is trying to convince as many countries as possible to accept withholding tax deals in an effort to avoid an automatic exchange of information. The success of this strategy hinges largely on Germany’s response. [...]
Bank data
Data protection watchdog supports bank staff
Switzerland’s data protection commissioner has waded into the United States tax evasion row by demanding that banks stop handing over information to the US authorities that reveal the identity of staff. [...]
