The view from the producing countries

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The relations between Zug and the East appear differently from the perspective of the producing countries. For many in Russia and Kazakhstan, the Swiss trading companies were intermediaries that captured part of the value of national resources. The transfer of margins to low-tax jurisdictions reduced tax revenues at home, while the offshore structures allowed owners to move wealth abroad beyond the reach of domestic authorities. The Russian government's deoffshorisation campaign after 2014 was directed at this pattern. Kazakhstan's investigations into the foreign assets of its former elite after 2022 pursued a similar aim.¹

For others, the Swiss connection was an advantage. It gave producers access to world markets, to trade finance and to professional expertise while also offering a measure of legal protection in an uncertain environment. The same Swiss company that critics saw as a tool of capital flight was, for its owners, a safeguard against arbitrary state action. Both views contain part of the truth. The history of Zug's ties to the East illustrates the ambivalence of an international business location that serves clients from countries with weak institutions: it provides services that those clients need, and the same services can be used to escape the rules of their home countries.

Notes

The Astana Times, "Kazakh President Signs Law on Return of Illegally Acquired Assets", July 2023, astanatimes.com: law on the return of illegally acquired assets to the state signed on 12 July 2023, with mechanisms of international legal cooperation for the enforcement of court decisions abroad. ↩

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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The view from the producing countries

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?