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Credit Suisse documents prompt calls for Switzerland to be considered for inclusion on EU’s AML/CFT blacklist

By Mark Ford on February 25, 2022

The European People’s Party (EPP), the conservative grouping which holds the biggest number of seats in the European Parliament, has called for a review of Switzerland’s banking practices and for the country’s possible inclusion in the EU’s list of countries with anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism deficiencies after leaks of Credit Suisse documents.

The documents obtained by a consortium led by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) appear to provide evidence that Credit Suisse accounts had been used by clients involved in torture, drug trafficking, money laundering, corruption and other serious crimes and suggest widespread failures of due diligence by the bank.

Credit Suisse contests any allegation of wrongdoing and says the report produced by 163 journalists from 48 media outlets across 39 countries were based on “partial, inaccurate or selective information taken out of context.”

Massive shortcomings

“The ‘Swiss Secrets’ findings point to massive shortcomings of Swiss Banks when it comes to the prevention of money laundering,” according to member of the European Parliament and the EPP’s coordinator on economic affairs, Markus Ferber.

“When Swiss banks fail to apply international anti-money laundering standards properly, Switzerland itself becomes a high-risk jurisdiction,” he concluded.

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority meanwhile has said it is “in contact” with Credit Suisse concerning the investigation. Switzerland’s Green Party said that parliament is not doing enough to prevent financial and tax crime.

Opposing views

The response from representatives of some of those named in the investigation has been completely opposite.

Jordanian authorities say media reports on bank accounts for King Abdullah II, “included inaccuracies, and outdated and misleading information that were employed with the aim of defaming Jordan and His Majesty, as well as distorting the truth.” Officials in Kazakhstan describe the reports of bank accounts connected with President Alihan Smaiylov as “fake news.”

Meanwhile the Kyrgyzstan government responded by proposing new procedures whereby the regime could block websites accused by anyone of spreading fake news, even in cases where no evidence is provided.