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Press release
Switzerland still one of the darkest corners of the financial world
03.06.2025, Finance and tax policy
In the Financial Secrecy Index published today, Switzerland continues to perform very poorly. Yet, the federal authorities in Bern continue by every means to defend the local financial centre as a contact point for oligarchs, a hotspot for criminal private banks, and a protected space for shady investment advisers. As early as next week, the National Council will again have an opportunity to reverse its position.
© TJN
Yet again, the Swiss financial centre performs rather poorly in the latest Financial Secrecy Index (FSI) put out by the Tax Justice Network (TJN). It ranks behind the USA – which, as is well known, is clearly on the verge of transitioning to oligarchy – still in second place on the list of opaque financial centres around the world. Dominik Gross, Expert on Finance and Tax Policy at Alliance Sud, says the following: "Since the previous edition of the FSI three years ago, Swiss policy has come no closer to its long-standing goal of establishing a clean money strategy for the local financial centre." Together with the notorious Guernsey tax haven, Switzerland has the highest secrecy level among the ten worst-rated financial centres.
Opaqueness no longer good for business
That Switzerland is not the frontrunner in opaqueness, as in the past, is attributable not to greater transparency compared with the USA, but to the fact that its financial centre is smaller than that of the USA. The local players’ share of the global offshore pie is diminishing, yet the lack of transparency is growing. Dominik Gross: "This outcome indicates that Swiss politicians are mistaken if they think that opaqueness still drives the asset management business. On the contrary, politicians are harming it with their outdated hide-and-seek approach."
Summer session: an opportunity for greater transparency
The National Council will have an opportunity for a policy reversal as early as next week. As part of its deliberations on the Legal Entity Transparency Act (LETA), it will be voting on the introduction of a corporate beneficial ownership registry, which is now the international standard. However, the Council of States has so drastically undermined it that implementing it will certainly not enhance transparency in the financial centre, but could even damage it. This protects Russian oligarchs, criminal private banks and shady advisers. Dominik Gross therefore has the following demand: "The National Council should return the draft to its Legal Affairs Committee, thereby forcing it to come up with a better alternative, compared with the Council of States".
For further information:
Dominik Gross, Expert on Finance and Tax Policy at Alliance Sud
Phone: +41 (0)78 838 40 79, Mail: dominik.gross@alliancesud.ch