Lawyer warns Swiss bankers not to leave Switzerland (updated with translation)

17 thoughts on “Lawyer warns Swiss bankers not to leave Switzerland (updated with translation)”

1. @Petros  Do you want me to translate this or should we wait for syndication to BBC and others? 

   @All If I am not mistaken, the US also detains recalcitrant witnessess. And it can be for a very long time.

   @Victoria  I saw a map of Europe in the article about the Swiss banker’s children being detained at the US border (http://www.tdg.ch/economie/Les-deux-ados-d-un-gestionnaire-de-fortune-genevois-interpelles-aux-EtatsUnis/story/22374928) that would seem to suggest France, Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic inter alia do not have a full extradition arrangement with the US (or at least one relevant to such cases)?  Do they not extradite their own citizens only or also refuse to extradite to the US others on their territory?  Would a Swiss citizen in France be liable for such deportation?  On that map Switzerland was also shown in red.  But such would not apply to Swiss citizens (prohibited by constitution). 

2. @Jefferson D. Thomas

   I can’t speak for the situation of non-citizens in any of these countries, but France, Germany, Russia, Brazil, Japan and several others simply don’t extradite their citizens period, not only just not to the US.  This is how Roman Polanski is able to live in France without any issues but why he has never been back to London since his trial and why some were worried that Kim Dotcom (Megaupload.com founder) might try to flee New Zealand for his native Germany if released on bail, since he would then no longer be subject to extradition.

3. Oh just remembered a good non-US related example: Alberto Fujimori was able to flee to Japan and claim citizenship through his parents, thus making his extradition to stand trial in Peru impossible until he left Japan for a trip to Chile in 2005, where he was promptly arrested.

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Fujimori 

4. @ Don, but perhaps they will extradite a Swiss citizen to US?  That what the lawyer is apparently warning against.

   @Jeff, If you want to translate the best parts version, be my guest.  It really increases the value of this website when people who have the language skills and the time make the latest news in foreign languages accessible to our readers.

5. Ok, my reaction to this story is that perhaps just for once, the United States could go after their own bankers.  But hey, they can’t do that, since what we have now in the United States is corrupt crony capitalism, where the cronies don’t ever have to face justice no matter how many trillions they defraud others of.

6. @Petros

   Indeed. The US is too busy picking off UK banks and financial service competitors like Standard Chartered this week.  

   So far all I can find with the extradition issue is that France and the US defnitely have no formal treaty, that France in no case will extradite its own citizens and that all other nationalities will be handled on a case by case basis.  What I did find that was interesting is that France may about to extradite one of its citizens to stand trial for genocide in Rwanda, which would apparently be the first time that a French citizen will have ever been extradited:

   http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/03/201233019333909384.html 

   As to the lawyer’s warning, I imagine that the Swiss bankers are wanted by Germany, France, Italy and the rest personally for questioning and not just for extradition to the US, which is probably why they are being advised to not leave Switzerland.

7. @Jefferson D. Thomas

   I had a look at the map that you are referring to – The caption mentions only Western Europe, which I guess from a Swiss perspective does not include Sweden (strange…?) or the other countries that you mentioned. Sweden, the Czech Republic and others do have some sort of extradition with the US if this list is correct:

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_extradition_treaties 

8. But France might consider a Swiss as an “European” even though we are not EU, we have bilateral accords.  Swiss citizens have all the rights of French in France, except the vote. 

   @Don Tribune de Genève map was hastily set up and not well thought up, I think. Victoria can probably get the real facts abvout France.

9. Here goes, it was quick and dirty:

   The following is a free translation to English of the article appearing in
   German on 08.08.2012, 11:41  and retrieved the same day from http://www.focus.de/finanzen/steuern/steuerfahndung/ich-rate-das-land-nicht-zu-verlassen-anwalt-warnt-schweizer-banker-vor-den-usa_aid_795698.html 
   The article remains the property of Focus and/or the authors of said article. 
   This is not the work of a professional translator, and we take no responsibility for omissions or mistakes.

   ________________________________________

   Anwalt warnt Schweizer Banker vor Verhaftungen „Ich rate, das Land nicht zu verlassen“

   Lawyer warns Swiss bankers about potential arrest “I advise [you] not to leave the country [Switzerland].”

   Der Steuerstreit zwischen der Schweiz und den USA verschärft sich. Aus Furcht, die Europäer könnten amerikanischen Ermittlern
   Amtshilfe leisten, raten Anwälte Schweizer Bänkern nun sogar, die Alpenrepublik
   lieber nicht zu verlassen.

   Haben Schweizer Banken ausländischen Bürgern jahrelang Beihilfe zur
   Steuerhinterziehung geleistet? Die Vorwürde häufen sich; nicht nur im europäischen Ausland, sondern auch in den USA. Aufgrund der Flut von Ermittlungsverfahren, Anklagen und Prozessen müssen Schweizer Bankiers nun womöglch ihre Reisteätigkeit einstellen. Weil die USA mit Frankreich, Deutschland, Österreich und Italien ein Auslieferungsabkommen abgeschlossen
   haben, drohe den Bankern auch in diesen Ländern eine Festnahme, berichtet der
   Online-Auftritt der Schweizer Tageszeitung „Blick“.

   The taxation-related controversy between Switzerland and the USA is becoming
   sharper [heating-up].  Out of fear that Europeans will provide administrative assistance [to the US], attorneys are advising Swiss bankers [read “Swiss bankers”, here and below as “employees of Swiss banks, not just the bosses”] that they better not leave the borders of their alpine republic.  Have Swiss bankers assisted foreign citizens to evade taxes for years?  Accusations are piling up.  Not only in Europe but also in the USA.  Because of the flood of investigations, indictments and legal cases Swiss bankers suspend their travel plans.  Because the US has an extradition treaty with France, Germany, Austria, and Italy, the bankers are threatened with arrest in such countries, reports the online version of the Swiss newspaper “Blick”. 

   Es geht dabei nicht nur um die großen Fische: Laut Denise Chervet vom Schweizerischen Bankenpersonalverband (SBPV) könnte es jeden Angestellten treffen, der über einen Zugang zu den Kundendaten verfügt. Allerdings räumt
   Chervet ein, dass diesen Mitarbeitern kaum eine Bestrafung drohe, sie jedoch als Zeugen aufgerufen werden könnten.

   This has to do not only with the “big fish” [whales]: according to Denise Chervet of
   the Swiss Bank Employees Association this also could affect every bank employee that has [also had?] access to client data.  Nevertheless, Chervet thinks that such employees would not be threatened with criminal sanctions, but that they
   could be called as witnesses.

   Credit Suisse beschwichtigt besorgte Angestellte

   Credit Suisse reassures anxious employees.

   Auch der Genfer Anwalt Douglas Hornung rät zur Vorsicht: „Man weiß nicht, was die USA mit den Bankmitarbeiterdaten anstellen werden“, sagte er dem „Blick“. Hornung betreut derzeit 40 aktuelle und ehemalige Mitarbeiter von Banken, die ins Visier der US-Behörden geraten sind. „Als Vorsichtsmassnahme rate ich meinen Mandanten daher, die Schweiz nicht zu verlassen“, erklärt Hornung.

   Geneva lawyer Douglas Horning also advises caution when asked by “Blick” : “One doesn’t know what the USA will do with information about bank employees”. Hornung represents 40 present and former employees of banks that are being targeted by US authorities.  “As a matter of caution, I advise my clients not to leave Switzerland”, Hornung said. 

   Auf Bankenseite versucht die Credit Suisse indes, die Lage zu beruhigen. „Die große Mehrheit der Mitarbeitenden der Credit Suisse hat sich an die Gesetze und Regeln gehalten. Sie haben nichts zu befürchten, wenn ihr Name in Geschäftsunterlagen enthalten sein sollte, die US-Behörden zur Verfügung gestellt wurden.“…

   On the side of the banks, Credit Suisse would like to urge some calm in the matter.  “The vast majority of Credit Suisse employees have respected the laws and rules.  They have nothing to fear, if their name is part of the company
   records that are made available to the US authorities.”

   Großbank erneut mit Klage konfrontiert

   [Credit Suisse] is again confronted with complaint

   Am Montag erst ist die Großbank erneut unter Beschuss aus den eigenen Reihen
   gekommen: Ein Mitarbeiter klagt gegen die Credit Suisse wegen der Auslieferung
   der Namen und Daten von Angestellten an die USA. Das teilte Alec Reymond,
   Anwalt des Klagenden, dem Schweizer Radiosender RTS mit.

   On Monday [Credit Suisse] came under fire from its own ranks: an employee has
   filed a complaint against Credit Suisse because the bank turned over names and
   personal information about employees to the USA. RTS [Swiss Francophone
   Radio/Television] was told this by Alec Reymond, attorney for the plaintiff. 

    

10. “Nevertheless, Chervet thinks that such employees would not be threatened with criminal sanctions, but that they
    could be called as witnesses. ”   Yeah, but doesn’t the US frequently detain witnesses?

11. Switzerland is part of Schengen.  Technically, Swiss can drive or fly over the borders to France, Germany, Austria and Italy without even showing their pass.  There is always a chance of being stopped, but unless they are doing high-tech US/DHS slave style eyeball scans at the boarder then there is a low risk of a clean cut banker type with Swiss license plates (or travelling on Swiss Airlines) being stopped.

12. *Thanks for the translation, Jeff!  Didn’t have time during my lunch break and I figured that the online translators were sufficient for the rest.

13. *The Wikipedia entry on US extradition treaties is incomplete.

    The US signed an extradition agreement with the European Union (binding on all its members) in 2003:

    http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2003:181:0027:0033:EN:PDF

14. Link to an NZ television broadcast on the Kim Dotcom arrest. The way the arrest was conducted was completely over the top:

    
    

15. Hate to throw fuel on the fire, but did anyone post this story from the 7th from the online Swissinfo? 

    US may target Swiss bankers travelling in Europe

    Swiss bankers whose names were delivered to the United States in April as part of the crackdown on US tax evaders face the risk of arrest while travelling in some European countries, not just on US soil.

    Extradition treaties between the US and countries including France, Germany, Italy, Austria and Britain make it possible for the US to take legal steps via Interpol against bankers suspected of helping US citizens evade taxes, Denise Chervet, central secretary of the Swiss Bank Employees Association told the Swiss News Agency.

    https://twitter.com/FATCA_Fallout/status/233595656932057089

16. You can search red notices online.  However it appears that there is no way to search blue (person of interest) notices.

    http://www.interpol.int/Wanted-Persons?lastname=Brock&Forenames=Isaac&IPSGT_ICPO_Countries=&free=&current_age_mini=0&current_age_maxi=100&IPSGT_Sex=&IPSGT_Eyes_Color=&IPSGT_Hair=&IPSGT_Interpol_Office=&IPSGT_Offence_Code=&wanted_search=

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