http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/francis/archive/2009/08/21/dirty-money-sloshes-to-singapore-from-switzerland.aspx
Network.nationalpost.com, 21 Aug 2009, Diane
Francis
Swiss banking secrecy crackdown:
Singapore next
The Swiss sting
The Swiss have been surrounded for decades by mountains of snow and
dirty money.
That’s why it is indeed welcome news that Washington has been able
to pry open Switzerland’s bank secrecy laws this week. UBS will
hand over information on the accounts of 4,450 wealthy
Americans.
But this should be just the
beginning and the next big target should be Singapore, according to
Washington-based attorney Jack Blum.
“As a result of the
pressure on Switzerland, a lot of the client bank accounts have
been shifted off to Singapore. UBS said [last year] it will cooperate
in giving up the names, so billions fled and it all appears to be
heading to Singapore,” he said in a recent
telephone interview.
Singapore is the “preferred destination” for Wall Street denizens,
according to Singaporean opposition politicians. Who knows? Maybe
some of Madoff’s billions are there.
Bankers are accessories
Singapore maintains that it has
weeded out criminals. But that’s what the Swiss said
too. There is no
way a bank can determine who is behind the person or entity with
the numbered bank account. It’s an excuse trying to
mask the fact that secrecy havens are willing accessories to
crimes.
“Crooks set up offshore corporations in the British Virgin Islands,
get a bank account in Singapore or in the Pacific islands or in a
trust in the Isle of Man and there’s no way to crack through all of
that at the moment,” said Blum.
This is why the UBS deal must be only the beginning of a global
crackdown. Governments worldwide have incurred enormous debts to
pull the world back from its economic brink, due to banking
malpractice, and tax evaders must be pursued to help ease the
burden on all taxpayers.
Secrecy invented in 1934
The Swiss invented the secret, numbered bank account to help Jews
and others hide money from the Nazis. But the Nazis used this
service too because secrecy enables despots, drug cartels and tax
evaders of every race, religion and nationality to evade taxes and
detection.
Swiss bank accounts have facilitated corruption worldwide and
involved high-profile cases in Pakistan, Africa and South America.
The late Yasser Arafat stashed $300 million safely away in
Switzerland, and safely out of the reach of the Palestinian people
to whom it belonged. Likewise, every tinpot dictator, terrorist
organization, kickback artist, tax cheat and drug dealer in the
world likely has a Swiss gnome protecting his money from police,
other crooks, tax authorities and ex-wives.
UBS nickname: used to be smart
This UBS precedent was the result of investigations which followed
revelations from a UBS whistleblower about the bank’s “offshore”
marketing techniques such as smuggling diamonds in toothpaste tubes
for clients.
But UBS is only the tip of the iceberg.
Last week, allegations were made in an Italian court by the
daughter of the late Gianni Agnelli, whose family owns Fiat which
is Italy’s largest industrial empire, that there was US$1 billion
hidden in Lugano banks that her mother was hiding from her.
This dirty money business has gone on for years and there are
trillions sloshing around in dozens of countries from Liechtenstein
to the Channel Islands, Cayman Island, Vanuatu, Austria plus
others.
The Swiss must now also force Credit Suisse and other financial
intermediaries to cooperate with foreign tax and police
authorities. This bank also came under fire in the 1990s when the
World Jewish Congress discovered that there was no effort to help
find the heirs to accounts of Jews who were murdered or who
disappeared in the Second World War. The money was being used by
the bank.
The Swiss have been
targeted for some time and now Singapore plus others must become
the focus. Ending bank secrecy will reap many
benefits for the world such as finding out if public officials and
politicans are on the take.
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