An ethic for a financial centre open to the world

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The tradition of stewardship today poses a particular question for a financial centre that serves clients from all over the world: how can the welcoming of foreign wealth be reconciled with the requirement not to serve as a refuge for assets of illicit origin or assets concealed from the tax authorities? After the crisis of banking secrecy, the Federal Council formulated a strategy intended to ensure that the Swiss financial centre accepts only tax-compliant assets.¹ Institutions have adapted their procedures for opening accounts, verifying the origin of funds and monitoring business relationships.

This development coincides with a requirement that Calvinist morality had already formulated: wealth is legitimate only if it has been acquired honestly and is used responsibly. The manager who accepts funds whose origin he does not know, or whose origin he suspects to be dubious, puts at stake his own integrity and the reputation of the whole financial centre. The verification of the origin of wealth, vigilance towards politically exposed persons and the refusal of relationships incompatible with legal requirements express, in the language of the law, this long-standing demand.

The question arises with particular acuteness for clients from countries where the rule of law is fragile. For these clients, the Geneva financial centre can offer legitimate protection against arbitrary power, as it did for the Huguenot refugees. It can also become, if vigilance is lacking, the receptacle of fortunes born of corruption or the embezzlement of public funds. Part I, devoted to the relations between Geneva and Africa, will examine this dilemma through concrete cases and the mechanisms for the restitution of illicit assets.

Notes

Le Temps, “Les banquiers torpillent la stratégie de l’argent propre” (The bankers torpedo the clean-money strategy): the “Weissgeld-Strategie”, offered to the left as a counterpart for accepting the agreement signed with the United States in 2012, comprises two elements, the verification by banks of clients’ tax compliance and internal measures for detecting aggravated tax fraud (a predicate offence to money laundering within the meaning of the FATF) above CHF 600,000; draft put out for consultation by the Federal Council until June (2013), judged “mission impossible, even for a seasoned tax specialist” by the private bankers, who prefer the automatic exchange of information. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of September 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

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An ethic for a financial centre open to the world

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?