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Essay Subject: Overview of society, govt. & economy, problems created by money laundering, bank profits, international challenges to secrecy laws.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Overview of society, govt. & economy, problems created by money laundering, bank profits, international challenges to secrecy laws. Paper Introduction: SWISS BANK ACCOUNTS Through the middle of the seventeenth century, Switzerland was a part of the Holy Roman Empire (Hunter 1255-1262). From the late-thirteenth century through 1648, Switzerland was a part of a defensive league of three states within the Holy Roman Empire. In 1648, the league became independent of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1798, a united Helvetic Republic was formed from the cantons comprising the defensive league. In 1815, the perpetual neutrality of Switzerland, the successor to the Helvetic Republic, was guaranteed by Austria, France, Great Britain, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Spain, and Sweden by the Congress of Vienna. Switzerland’s present constitution was adopted in 1874, and the newest canton, Jura, was established by a vote of the electorate in 1978. Switzerland is a Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. On the other hand, thepenalties provided for in the banking statutes for the conduct of moneylaundering activities are seen by many as being insufficient deterrents toeither banks or bankers tempted to participate in such activities. Switzerland is a republic, wherein the highest political authority isvested in citizens over the age of 2 years as the country's electorate(Hunter 1255-1262). Works CitedBelderbos, R., and Holmes, P. To state only that money laundering is a process designed to makecriminally acquired funds usable tends to restrict the scope of moneylaundering activities. Theefforts by American enforcement officials to trace monies through foreignbanks often involve attempts to cause United States law to supersede thelaws of other independent countries. There is nothing mysterious about either theconduct of such business, nor about the reasons for making use of off-shorebanking. Off-shore banking, however, also provides an environment in which somebanking activities may escape the regulatory authority of nationalgovernments. 'We are concerned about the threat to Swiss bankingconfidentiality but it is difficult to say yet what will happen. Conflict and Compromise in Multilingual Societies: Switzerland, 2nd ed. 3 5, September 1994, B64-B65.Trepp, G. Switzerland's GNPapproximates US$2 billion per annum. In 1648, the league becameindependent of the Holy Roman Empire. I don't think we have anything to worryabout. Secondary school enrollment is the equivalent of 1 percent of theappropriate age group, while enrollment in institutions of higher educationis the equivalent of 6 percent of the 2 -24 age group. In this context,economic power is developed in a number of different ways. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1996.Hunter, Brian. The prosecutor in the tax briberytrial involving some of Italy's Pressed "Swiss authorities to reveal thedetails of bank accounts in Liechtenstein and Gibraltar, where Italian taxpolice allegedly stashed bribes they exacted from the fashion firms.Prosecutor Elio Ramondini said he wants Swiss authorities, whoadminister the banks in those small countries, to reveal how much money wasin the bank accounts and the number of account holders and transactionsthat took place during the period when Italy's tax police were conductingaudits in the fashion sector. The Swiss economy is market directed and privately owned. Martins Press, 19974."Switzerland." OECD Economic Outlook, No. Representation in the Nationalrat is proportional to cantonalpopulations. Second, the income share forthe highest 1 percent of the population in Switzerland (29.8 percent) iseven higher than that in the United States (25 percent), while the range inthe other Western European countries is from 21.2 to 25.5 percent). In 1798, a united Helvetic Republicwas formed from the cantons comprising the defensive league. Following a problem withinflation in the early-199 s, inflation in Switzerland was brought undercontrol in 1994 ("Switzerland" B64-B65). Geographically, the country is located inthe heart of the Alps in Central Europe. Canton government exercise authorityin other areas of interest. Right nownothing has been eroded, but there is the possibility that this couldchange,' she says. Economic growthwas minimal in the early-199 s; however, stronger growth began in the last-half of 1994, and this growth trend is expected to continue through thelast-half of the 199 s ("Switzerland" 11 -111). "Money laundering" is a term which has entered the publicconsciousness relatively recently. Prosecutor Ramondini saidfresh details about the accounts 'will shed considerable light on how thetax officials were operating' (Conti 18). Although the money laundering process may be (and is) used to concealthe sources of funds acquired through either legal or illegal means, theprocess is most often associated in the public mind with funds acquiredthrough the conduct of illegal activities. German is the language of 65 percent of the Swiss. The difficulty Swiss banks face is that secrecy laws are one ofthe prime attractions for customers looking to keep their businesstransactions under wraps" (Trepp 33). For most people, there is notadvantage to a Swiss bank account unless one is Swiss. Banking officers are able toearn "commissions" for handling monies acquired through illegal activities. Income distribution in Switzerland is generally similar to that inother Western European countries and the United States with a fewexceptions. Ethnic relations within Switzerland are good and are characterized bycompromise and accommodation when one is considering French-Swiss, German-Swiss, and Italian-Swiss (McRae 74). Swiss banks now have to decide whetherto abandon offshore banking or whether to move the business elsewhere.Abandoning their private banking income could prove costly, however, with4 per cent of the return on equity of Swiss banks in 1996 coming from thissource. 'If the law changes here, it couldalso change elsewhere,' says the spokeswoman at Credit Suisse. With respect to personal banking, Switzerland is a part of the so-called off-shore banking community as a consequence of the country'sbanking secrecy laws (Konrad, Olsen, and Schob 149). A fourth aspect of the money laundering problem lies in the enormouseconomic power that the success of money laundering activities permit thecriminal elements within American society to develop. The use of off-shore banking for this purpose isgenerally referred to as money laundering. Consistent withthe constitutional protection of legitimate civil liberties in the UnitedStates, American banking statutes often aid and abet the money launderers,by making it difficult for enforcement officers to gain access to recordswhich would indicate that a money laundering transaction might haveoccurred, and who might have been involved. The country's densityis 169 persons per square kilometer. Attimes, it may provide access to lower cost money than would otherwise beavailable. This lawwas perverted after the war to protect banks from the claims of accountsholders and relatives of those killed in the Holocaust. "An Economic Analysis of Matsushita Revisited." Antitrust Bulletin 4 (Winter 1995), 825-857.McRae, Kenneth D. First, the income share for the highest 2 percent of thepopulation in Switzerland (44.6 percent) is more comparable to that in theUnited States (41.9 percent) than to that in the other Western Europeancountries (a range from 36 to 41 percent). Themonies derived from illegal sources, subsequent to laundering, may be usedto acquire significant interests in legitimate businesses; an act whichincreases the economic power of the source of the laundered monies. For the banks, enormous profitsare also available through the handling of these monies; additionally,liquidity problems may also be eased by handling these monies. In the conduct of these latteractivities, the monies being laundered may have been acquired by legitimatemeans. Off-shore banking often facilitates international operations. A third facet of the money laundering problem involves internationalrelations. Enforcement of laws concerning money laundering is made difficult bythe ways in which American banking statutes are written. It provides an environment inwhich the amount, source, ownership, and location of funds may be shieldedfrom official scrutiny. It is not only authorities in the United States who desire tochallenge Swiss banking secrecy laws. The additional worry for Swiss banks is that if thesecrecy laws are removed, there are few opportunities to move their privatebanking divisions offshore. The countries most ofteninvolved are those which maintain strict, legislated banking secrecy, suchas the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, and Switzerland ("Swiss Banks" 2). Switzerland has the world's highest per capita gross national product--US$28, (World Bank 179). Second, thefederal (and, to a lesser extent, state and local) government is losingmoney three ways in relation to money laundering: (1) money is expended inefforts to control criminal activity which is being facilitated by moneylaundering activities; (2) money is being expended in efforts to halt thepractice of money laundering; and (3) tax monies are being lost as a resultof successful money laundering activities. Economicpower in Switzerland is shared by major industrial enterprises, majorfinancial institutions, and the Swiss federal government representing theinterests of other economic entities and the Swiss population as a whole.Economic power in Switzerland, thus, is well distributed throughout thesociety. The problem surrounding money laundering is multifaceted. An additional 18percent speak French as a first language, while 12 percent speak Italian,one-percent speak Romanish, all four of which are official languages inSwitzerland, and the remaining five-percent of the population speak avariety of other languages as their first language. The Alps cover 6 percent ofSwitzerland's land area, and the Jura near France accounts for another 1 percent of the country's land area. 55, June 1994, 11 -111."Switzerland." Euromoney, No. Next, is the problem involving the banks and the bankers (the fifthaspect of the money laundering problem). According to Trepp (33): "More concern is felt at Credit Suisse,however, where a spokeswoman acknowledged that the threat of change isconsiderable. The Swissgovernment, however, exercises significant control over the generalmanagement of the economy and the country's financial system. In these instances, theillegally acquired funds are made to appear as if they were acquiredthrough legitimate activities, so that they may be freely used. In 1815, theperpetual neutrality of Switzerland, the successor to the HelveticRepublic, was guaranteed by Austria, France, Great Britain, Portugal,Prussia, Russia, Spain, and Sweden by the Congress of Vienna.Switzerland's present constitution was adopted in 1874, and the newestcanton, Jura, was established by a vote of the electorate in 1978. Off-shore banking isthe term applied to the conduct of commercial banking business in acountry other than the home country of the individual or organizationconducting the business. Off-shore banking, in some instances, also facilitates abuses of theinternational commercial banking systems. For 52 years thebanks had to be forced from the outside to do something to identify therightful owners of dormant accounts: in 1962 by the Swiss parliament; andin 1996 by international pressure. Enforcement, to a greatextent, relies on the compliance of banking institutions with the federalcurrency transactions reporting laws. Essentially, money laundering is aprocess whereby the source of funds may be concealed, while, at the sametime, making the funds freely available for use. While the minimum priceswere adhered to at United States customs, the Japanese firms secretlysought to give substantial rebates to their United States distributors bytransfers to Swiss bank accounts (Belderbos and Holmes 825). The volume ofthe transactions, together with the financial benefits derived from them,causes some the participating banking institutions to become dependent uponthem; thereby accruing a degree of economic power to the money source. In 1934 banking secrecy was enshrined in Swiss federal law, mainly toprotect French tax-evaders "from its leftist government, and not, as legendhas it, to protect German Jewish account holders from the Nazis. The Swiss federal government has supreme governmental authority inmatters of foreign affairs, military affairs, transportation,communications, and monetary control. (Ed.). The process of money laundering, when conducted on a largescale, inevitably involves the use of banking institutions located outsideof the jurisdiction of the United States. The legislative authority at the federal level of Swiss government isa national parliament, the Nationalrat, that is elected for four-yearterms. As reported, the trial revolves around a series of bribesranging from $62, to $26 , paid by the fashion houses to taxofficials between 1989 and 1991. The process of money laundering is, in and of itself, an illegalactivity. To avoid minimum pricing laws for imports to the United States, someJapanese firms have used Swiss bank accounts. Switzerland is a country of more than 41,53 square kilometers ofterritory (Hunter 1255-1262). Gross national product growthaveraged 1.9 percent per annum over the 1981-199 period. When a banking institution or one ofits trusted employees is involved in a money laundering scheme ortransaction, the scheme or transaction may escape governmental notice for along period of time (or forever). Ethnic toleration on the part of theSwiss for non Swiss population minorities, however, is lower. In Switzerland, the electorate, not the electedparliament, has the only power to approve changes to the country'sconstitution. swiss bank accounts Through the middle of the seventeenth century, Switzerland was a partof the Holy Roman Empire (Hunter 1255-1262). In this context, off-shore banking activities may frustrateboth national and international economic planning and goal attainment. The prosecution has claimed the fashionhouses were party to the bribes and profited from them, while the defensehas said they were a form of extortion. While it is certainly true that monies derivedthrough the illegal sales of drugs, prostitution, and other overtlyrecognizable criminal activities account for the bulk of money launderingactivities affecting the United States, the process is also used as a meansof evading federal income taxes in the United States, to conceal bribery,and for a host of other purposes. "Swiss Banks Blown Open." European (31 July 1997), 32-34.World Bank. First, ifthe practice of money laundering is not stopped or, at least, significantlycurtailed, it will be far more difficult to halt the criminal activitywhich creates a need for money laundering in the first place. People are confusing a special situation-concerning dormantaccounts-with age-old laws which are proven to work well" (Quote in Tress33). The enforcement of laws concerning money laundering, however, isdifficult for a number of legitimate reasons. London: St. The adult literacy rate in Switzerland is 1 percent (World Bank179). World Development Report 1997. Ramondini was speaking during the second dayof the trial of Gianfranco FerrA, Krizia owner and designer MariucciaMandelli, Versace chief executive officer Santo Versace and their companymanagers. To date no money has beenreturned to any of these countries. These "commissions" can easily equal or exceed the annual legitimateincomes of individual bankers (Bray A5). In Switzerland, a USB (one of Switzerland's major banks), said that:"Various politicians have tried to crack down on banking secrecy in thepast and not been successful. If the effort to get Swiss banks tocough up funds deposited with them by Jews at the time of the Holocaustsucceeds, are all these other cases going to break open at the same time?"(Trepp 34). From the late-thirteenthcentury through 1648, Switzerland was a part of a defensive league of threestates within the Holy Roman Empire. Similar confidentiality is offered in a smallnumber of other countries, making it difficult for these banks to moveoffshore if the changes are introduced. Then itwould be difficult to find an offshore haven with similar laws to the onesthat we would have lost, as the countries offering this are few anyway.'" The list of big name holders of Swiss accounts where the money is indispute includes "the family of the late Emperor Bokassa of the CentralAfrican Republic, Iraq's President Saddam Hussein and deposed presidentMobutu Sese Seko of the former Zaire, now Congo. The Statesman's Year Book 1997-1998, 135th ed. The remaining 3 percent of the landarea is located in the Midlands between the other two regions.Switzerland's population approximates seven million. The country's average annual rate of inflationfor the 1981-199 period was 3.8 percent. London: Oxford University Press, 1997. It is obvious that the advantages of a Swiss bank account are greatestfor those individuals who (1) have a great deal of money for which theyseek maximum security, (2) have a reason to conceal the fact that they havea great deal of money, and (3) have reason to believe that safety forthemselves in their own country is at risk. The act of moneylaundering, a crime in itself in the United States, makes the control ofsome other forms of criminal activity more difficult. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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