[A-List] A Swiss banking secret

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

City is money laundering 'paradise'
Bob Sherwood, London
Financial Times, November 16 2004

The City of London is a "paradise for money launderers" because English laws
allow criminals to hide identities behind anonymous trusts, the president of
the Swiss Bankers' Association said yesterday.

Pierre Mirabaud launched an attack on the trust system, which is an English
legal invention, in a Swiss newspaper. He told the Berner Zeitung: "The
consequence of this rule is that the authorities' investigations reach no
conclusions, because the banks really don't know who their trust customers
are."

British and EU officials frequently attack Swiss banking secrecy. But Mr
Mirabaud said the trust system in effect removed any need for Britain to
have banking secrecy laws.

The UK is coming under increasing pressure to scrutinise service providers
that set up trusts and other corporate entities.