Conclusion to Part G

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Commodity trading is the second pillar of the Geneva financial centre, alongside wealth management. Born of Cargill’s arrival in 1956, in the wake of nineteenth-century Swiss pioneers and of the Société générale de surveillance, it grew with oil trading and then with a generation of independents founded in Geneva in the 1990s and 2000s. It rests on a business of arbitrage, logistics and risk management, and on a cluster of services that competing centres have not yet reproduced.

Its economic weight, measured for the first time by the Federal Statistical Office in 2025, amounts to CHF 19.2 billion of value added for Switzerland, of which CHF 11.2 billion in Geneva, figures lower than the earlier estimates based on transit trade, but considerable for a canton of half a million inhabitants. Its taxation, unified in 2020, and the minimum taxation of large groups have reduced the advantage of Dubai and Singapore, whose competition remains keen.

Part H examines what today forms the heart of the debates on commodity trading: its financing and the frauds of 2020, the sanctions and their effects since 2022, the fight against money laundering and politically exposed persons, the criminal liability of companies and the cases that have struck Gunvor, Glencore and Trafigura, as well as the demands of transparency and responsibility that the sector must meet.

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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