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Showing posts with the label “Swiss banks”

The Man Who Exposed Switzerland's Dirty Secrets

“He knew there was something about the way Switzerland operated that made it uniquely useful to the forces of capitalism: not as a lead actor, but as an enabler working from behind the scenes.  “Some years later, Ziegler would use the term ‘secondary imperialism’ to define his country’s modus operandi. “Ziegler’s thesis, which he stands by to this day, is that Switzerland’s role in the world is that of accomplice – handmaiden, of sorts – to capitalism. “The transgressors included the banks that welcomed suitcases of cash from dictatorships in Portugal and the Dominican Republic; the real estate agencies that helped Gulf sheikhs and Guatemalan colonels buy lakeside apartments in which to hide; and subsidiaries of the American firms Dow Chemical and Honeywell, which oversaw the international sales of napalm and landmines. “To this day, is that Switzerland’s role in the world is that of accomplice – handmaiden, of sorts – to capitalism .”

Credit Swiss Asks to Destroy Documents Linked to Oligarchs

Credit Suisse has asked hedge funds and other investors to destroy documents relating to its richest clients’ yachts and private jets, in an attempt to stop information leaking about a unit of the bank that has made loans to oligarchs who were later sanctioned.  Investors this week received letters from the Swiss bank requesting that they destroy the documents relating to a securitisation of loans backed by “jets, yachts, real estate and/or financial assets”, according to three people whose firm received the request. Financial Times Swiss banks are also infamous for protecting fat accounts of Tunisian and Egyptian family members of the former Ben Ali and Mubarak regimes, among others.