Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Documents released in the United States in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein case reveal that the American financier’s sex trafficking network, which came to light before his death in 2019, also had links to Switzerland.
Meanwhile, Geneva once again finds itself at the centre of international diplomacy, hosting talks on the US peace plan for Ukraine. In French-speaking Switzerland, however, addiction care services are under strain as crack use spreads.
Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking network also extended into Switzerland, according to the NZZ am Sonntag. The paper reports that the late financier was a client of a major Swiss bank.
“Hello Jeffrey! I have an assistant from Zurich for you. I had already sent you her photos […] I have some new ones here in Zurich, but not yet in New York or Paris,” reads one 2016 email included in the newly published documents. Epstein’s network used the term “assistant” to refer to women exploited for prostitution.
The Zurich newspaper also cites a 2015 exchange between a Guardian journalist and Epstein regarding his accounts at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva. For now, the Federal Office of Justice has not received any requests for legal assistance from the United States, and neither the Zurich nor Geneva prosecutors’ offices – nor HSBC – have commented.
Last week, US President Donald Trump signed a law ordering the full release of the Epstein case file, which runs to tens of thousands of pages.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, left Geneva after the first day of negotiations on the 28-point US peace plan for Ukraine. Swiss media are now assessing what this means for Geneva’s role as a diplomatic hub.
The plan reportedly calls for Kyiv to cede occupied territories to Russia and to renounce NATO membership. US President Donald Trump has given Ukraine until November 27 to respond. After meeting the Ukrainian delegation, Rubio spoke of “substantial progress” toward “a just and lasting peace”.
According to Swiss foreign ministry spokesperson Nicolas Bideau, quoted in the Tages-Anzeiger, “this meeting illustrates the trust placed in Switzerland to provide a secure, neutral setting for sensitive talks”. Carlo Sommaruga, a parliamentarian from the Social Democratic Party, agreed that Geneva remains “an ideal location”, even if, as he noted, “we may not sit at the table”.
Former foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey lamented that Switzerland has “become more of a waiter than a cook”, saying the government is retreating from its traditional role as a provider of good offices.
The crack epidemic is hitting Lausanne hard, and the city’s addiction-care network is struggling to cope. Local media outlets Watson and 24 heures are now questioning whether Switzerland’s four-pillar drug policy – prevention, treatment, harm reduction and regulation – has reached its limits.
Olivier Simon, a member of the College of Addiction Medicine of French-speaking Switzerland, told 24 heures that the system remained effective but was suffering from budget cuts and reduced federal funding. “To deal with a substance like crack, which rapidly destroys health and finances, you need a strong, flexible network of social and health actors,” he said – something still lacking in French-speaking Switzerland, where consumption rooms are unevenly distributed compared to the German-speaking regions.
Watson confirmed the lack of coordination between French-speaking cantons. While Vaud and Geneva were investing in crisis response, Valais “has no vision” for harm reduction, according to Camille Robert, co-secretary of the French-speaking Addiction Studies Group (GREA).
The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), Swissinfo’s parent company, has announced plans to save CHF270 million ($334 million) by 2029 and cut 900 full-time positions.
“We regret these redundancies, but political decisions and the environment in which we operate leave us no alternative,” said SBC Director Susanne Wille. The cuts come as part of a major restructuring prompted by the government’s decision to reduce the annual household licence fee from CHF335 to CHF300, alongside declining advertising revenues and inflation.
The Media Diversity Alliance called the decision “dramatic”, stressing the need to prevent further cuts such as those proposed by the “CHF200 is enough!” initiative, which will be put to a nationwide vote on March 8, 2026.
Translated from Italian using DeepL/amva/ts
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