French and Swiss Clash Over Money Laundering

On February 21, 2001, the French parliament’s task force on money laundering in Europe released a report criticizing the Swiss anti-money laundering as a sham. The report also demanded that Switzerland tighten enforcement of its rules. One of the charges is that during 1999-2000 Switzerland’s 372 banks made only 313 suspicious transaction reports, an average of less than one per bank. Almost immediately the Swiss Finance Ministry and the Swiss Bankers’ Association angrily rejected the accusations of inadequate due diligence by Swiss bankers…[more]