After plundering Russia, Putin and his oligarchs are using Swiss banking secrecy laws to hide and protect the proceeds of their crimes, the commission said.
“Long known as a place where war criminals and kleptocrats are burying loot, Switzerland is one of the leading contributors to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and his impending crimes. swissinfo.ch.
Swiss anti-corruption expert Mark Pitt testified to this influential US government commission. He said Swiss lawyers could indeed help Russian oligarchs hide traces of their money without violating their country's laws.
Mark Pitt, a journalist with the Center for the Study of Corruption and Organized Crime (OCCRP) Miranda Patrucic, and Bill Browder, a financier and investor who accuses Swiss prosecutors of failing to investigate a money laundering investigation, spoke online at the Commission's hearing on Thursday, May 5. Russia, in connection with the death of Sergei Magnitsky .
Mark Pete told the Commission that lawyers are using Swiss legal loopholes to thwart efforts to track Russian assets. Here is what he said literally:
“We know that Switzerland is a small country. At the same time, it is the location of a significant financial industry, being perhaps the world's largest center of trade in commodities. It has a long tradition of banking secrecy. In short, it is one of the largest offshore harbors in the world. I am especially interested in the role of organizers and assistants – they are often lawyers who are covered by the principle of legal secrecy. There is nothing wrong with acting like ordinary lawyers defending the interests of their clients. On the other hand, it is no less obvious that lawyers who invest their clients' money no longer act as lawyers, but as financial operators. ”
“Putin and oligarchs close to him have corrupted the Swiss judiciary,” he said.
According to Pete, leaks of confidential information have shown that there is a whole intermediary sector in Switzerland, ie people who, without directly touching money, participate in the creation of structures for money laundering (fictitious companies, offshore accounts, etc.). Swiss anti-money laundering legislation does not apply to them. And yet they are in fact helping to hide the funds of, for example, Russian oligarchs, as shown by all these sources. For example, Russian cellist [Sergei] Roldugin, a school friend of Putin, unexpectedly received a quarter of Bank of Russia and a quarter of a Russian tank manufacturer – and those who help him access and hide these assets form a law firm. Zurich (names may be provided).
Such structures prevent banks and the government from identifying the beneficial owners of the assets. In other words, they are a real danger to the successful functioning of the sanctions regime imposed on Russia. In Switzerland, in March 2021, under pressure from industry lobbyists, parliament refused to formally subject these intermediaries to legislation governing anti-money laundering and anti-money laundering procedures. Of course, the Swiss authorities will intervene if there is clear evidence of sanctions and money laundering – but, as Bill Browder's example is shocking, law enforcement can be incompetent and sometimes biased.
The United States must play its part without waiting for Switzerland to make new efforts to regulate such benefits. It is clear that the US Department of Justice could intervene where and when these facilitators violate sanctions. You could include such intermediaries, whose names are known, in the sanctions list, or impose a ban on these lawyers from issuing entry visas to the United States. In general, I think it makes sense for Bill to reconsider law enforcement relations between the United States and Switzerland, especially if the new Swiss Attorney General does not understand what signal Magnitsky's case is sending to the world. “
Immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine, Switzerland decided not to impose sanctions, as this could “violate the status of neutrality.” But then the Swiss government was forced to fully expand its course by 180 degrees as a result of strong domestic and international pressure. Currently, Berne mirrors all European Union sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities. To date, Swiss authorities have frozen $ 7.5 billion ($ 7.7 billion) in assets in the country. oligarchs
Swiss media have already reported that public accusations by the Helsinki Commission have caused outright confusion in the Swiss government. The Luzerner Zeitung reported that Swiss Foreign Minister Ignacio Cassis objected to these statements during a telephone conversation with his American counterpart Anthony Blinken.
What is behind such harsh criticism from the Commission? According to the Swiss TV channel SRF, now Switzerland, even if mentioned in Washington, in a positive way, they say, even neutral Switzerland imposes sanctions against Russia. But we should not forget that J. Biden in his inaugural speech mentioned Switzerland as an offshore harbor for those who want to evade taxes.
Speaking to the commission, Bill Browder said that the US government still has a strong position on those who do not want to take any action on Switzerland, given that it has frozen billions of dollars of Russian assets. Bill Browder said, however, that he would try to convince the US government that these billions were just beginning.
What threatens Switzerland? According to the SRF correspondent in the United States, it is too early to talk about it. Such accusations by the commission and those who spoke on it harshly and very aggressively push the issue of Russian assets in Switzerland into public discourse, but will the government or the US Congress hear that call? It is unclear yet. But if the US authorities find out about any violations, the situation for Switzerland can quickly become very unpleasant. So far, of course, all these statements will not attract much attention in Washington, but it is possible and vice versa, in the end, hunting for the assets of Russian oligarchs is one of the priorities in Washington's policy.
