In a joint letter in April this year, G7 ambassadors rebuked the Swiss government for turning a blind eye to many “loopholes” in Swiss law (and the role played by Swiss lawyers in exploiting them), which, they said, were being used to facilitate the evasion of sanctions.
This mounting pressure perhaps explains why the new reforms are the second time within just three years that Switzerland has overhauled its financial crime laws.
Many will view this latest development as the Swiss being motivated by the need to avoid becoming a pariah on the world stage, rather than by any new-found financial principles.
Time will tell whether these reforms will have any real bite or whether they represent the Swiss simply paying lip service to the international community.
The announced reforms will now be subject to a period of consultation, during which political parties and civil groups, including banking and lawyers’ lobbyists, will be consulted – meaning there is a risk of any possible legislation being watered down.
But whatever form the reforms eventually take, they will go some way – for better or worse – towards shaping the future perception of Switzerland.
Francesca Cassidy-Taylor is a senior associate and Aziz Rahman is a senior partner at Rahman Ravelli
