22/02/22

SWITZERLAND: Press Say Credit Suisse Not Singled Out.

As published on finews.com, Tuesday 22 February, 2022.

Group behind the "Suisse Secrets" leak said it did not single out Credit Suisse and announces more revelations to come.

At a virtual media conference, the consortium of journalists investigating the "Suisse Secrets" data leak said the information they saw put them on the trail of Credit Suisse and that they didn't single out the Swiss bank in particular.

Following the revelations, finews.com also looked into whether Credit Suisse had been singled out.

Julia Wallace of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), said this was not the case, and that the focus was on cases where there was an overriding public interest involving high-ranking public figures, known criminals or known cases of corruption.

Wallace said the OCCRP was aware of its responsibility, adding that it was not a crime to have a bank account in Switzerland, and that it would only involve media partners in countries where relevant cases existed.

For example, Suisse Secrets did not uncover any relevant Swiss cases. Also, OCCRP stressed it does not intend to make the data public without restrictions.

It is now up to prosecutors and the courts to determine whether banks acted illegally.

Switzerland placed tenth in the World Press Freedom Index in 2021. Paradoxically, some Swiss parliamentarians, from the Social Democratic Party (SP) in particular, take the position that press freedom is restricted because journalists can be prosecuted for violating banking secrecy.

There were no attempts by the authorities to prevent publication, but there were attempts by customers, the consortium said.