Corruption in Switzerland
Corruption in Switzerlanddescribes the prevention and occurrence ofcorruptioninSwitzerland.
Extent[edit]
Government[edit]
Switzerlandhas a legal framework to combat corruption and several authorities are in charge of curbing the levels of it, particularly when it comes to corruption withinSwiss financial institutions.[1]Several sources suggest that the country's fight against corruption has been effective.[2]However, efforts to combat corruption, especially with respect to political party financing have been described as unsatisfactory.[3]
The Council of Europe's Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) noted in its 2017 evaluation the specific features of Switzerland's institutions which inspire public confidence in those institutions. The GRECO report also identified three problem areas: potential conflicts of interest in politicians, a potential lack of objectivity in federal judges, and a lack of transparency in the internal operations of the Office of the Attorney General. Finally, GRECO recommended that formal codes of conduct be adopted in these three areas.[4]
On Transparency International's 2023Corruption Perceptions Index,Switzerland scored 82 on a scale from 0 ( "highly corrupt" ) to 100 ( "very clean" ). When ranked by score, Switzerland ranked 6th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector.[5]For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), the average score was 43, and the worst score was 11 (ranked 180).[6]For comparison with regional scores, the highest score among Western European and European Union countries[Note 1]was 90, the average score was 65 and the lowest score was 42.[7]
The Transparency International Global Barometer 2013 showed thatpolitical partieswere considered the most corrupt institution in Switzerland. On a scale of 1 (not at all corrupt) to 5 (extremely corrupt), the Swiss rated their political parties at 3.3.[8]
A Transparency International Switzerland report published in February 2024 also found that every second Swiss company that exports goods is confronted with demands for bribes or gifts. According to the study, 63% of companies comply with these demands.[9]
Cases of excessive force, lengthy detention and abuse againstmigrants or asylum seekershave been reported.[10]In some cases police officers have been given suspended sentences or suspended fines for using excessive force while arresting individuals.[3]
Nepotismis considered an issue when dealing with corruption since many people know each other given the close proximity and social, economic and military structures in Switzerland.[11]
TheHelsinki Commissionof the US Congress has strongly criticized the functioning of the Swiss judiciary and courts in 2023; namely by saying they are "corrupt".[12]
Business[edit]
Regarding business and corruption, companies do not consider corruption a problem for doing business in Switzerland, and Swiss companies are active inCorporate Social Responsibilitythat are generally in line withOECDGuidelines for multinational enterprises.[1]
But the Swiss system has also enabled some types of organisation to operate with little or no transparency or oversight such as those linked tocommodities trade.[13][14][15][16] According to theOECD:[17][18]
Switzerland has a leading, and sometimes dominant, position in a number of the economic sectors that not only play a key role in its economy but also expose it to relatively acute risks of foreign bribery
Some recent examples includeNovartispaying $729 million to settle bribery cases in the United States andGreecein 2020[19]or Zurich-based bankJulius Baeradmitting to laundering over $36 million in bribes in aFIFAcase in 2021.[20]In 2021,Credit Suissewas prosecuted in aMozambiquetuna bondscorruption scandal in theUnited States.[11]In 2022,Glencorepaid up to $1.5 billion in penalties to resolve corruption claims with US, UK and Brazilian authorities.[21]
Banking[edit]
In 2018, the advocacy groupTax Justice NetworkrankedSwitzerland's banking sectoras the "most corrupt" in the world due to a largeoffshore bankingindustry and very strict secrecy laws. These laws allowmoney launderingand hiding illegally obtained wealth.[22][23]The Tax Justice Network's ranking attempts to measure how much assistance the country's legal systems provide to money laundering, and to protecting corruptly obtained wealth.[24]
Theenabling industryrefers to lawyers, fiduciaries, notaries, and real estate agents who are helping the criminals invest or hide their ill-gotten monies. Their activity is not covered by theSwiss Anti-Money Laundering Actas long as they are only advising clients to place money in a particular financial institution or country.[11]
Sports[edit]
Switzerland is at the center of sports corruption because many international sports organizations are headquartered there. For example, international sporting organisations (ISO's) can have the legal status of an internationalNon Governmental Organisation.Encouraged by the resulting range of legal and fiscal privileges, some 53 international sports organisations have their head office in Switzerland, with 46 of them in theCanton de Vaudalone. These includeFIFAand theIOC.[25]
Notes[edit]
- ^Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
See also[edit]
- Crime in Switzerland
- 2015 FIFA corruption case
- International Anti-Corruption Academy
- Group of States Against Corruption
- International Anti-Corruption Day
- ISO 37001 Anti-bribery management systems
- United Nations Convention against Corruption
- OECD Anti-Bribery Convention
- Transparency International
References[edit]
- ^ab"Snapshot of the Switzerland Country Profile".Business Anti-Corruption Portal. Archived fromthe originalon 8 December 2013.Retrieved4 December2013.
- ^"2013 Investment Climate Statement - Switzerland (Including Lichtenstein)".US Department of State.Retrieved4 December2013.
- ^ab"Human Rights Report 2015- Switzerland".US Department of State.Retrieved26 November2019.
- ^"Council of Europe's Anti-Corruption body calls on Switzerland to develop ethical rules applicable to federal members of parliament, judges and prosecutors".Group of States against Corruption.Council of Europe.Retrieved2022-07-18.
- ^"The ABCs of the CPI: How the Corruption Perceptions Index is calculated".Transparency.org.Retrieved2 March2024.
- ^"Corruption Perceptions Index 2023: Switzerland".Transparency.org.30 January 2024.Retrieved2 March2024.
- ^"CPI 2023 for Western Europe & EU: Rule of law and political integrity threats undermine action against corruption".Transparency.org.30 January 2024.Retrieved2 March2024.
- ^Hardoon, Deborah; Heinrich, Finn.Global Corruption Barometer 2013(PDF)(Report). Transparency International. p. 37.ISBN978-3-943497-36-6.Retrieved9 August2023.
- ^Nay, Andri."Every third Swiss company pays bribes when conducting business abroad".Neue Zürcher Zeitung.Retrieved27 May2024.
- ^"Switzerland: Amnesty International sounds the alarm and urges action to put an end to human rights violations in federal asylum centres".Amnesty International.Retrieved5 July2024.
- ^abc"Switzerland stumbles in anti-corruption ranking".25 January 2022.
- ^"Fonds russes gelés en Suisse – Berne intervient contre les critiques américaines de la justice suisse".24 heures(in French). 2023-08-04.Retrieved2023-08-09.
- ^"Glencore probed by U.S. CFTC for 'corrupt practices'".Reuters.25 April 2019.
- ^"Trafigura ends use of middlemen after corruption probes".15 July 2019.
- ^"Trafigura paid $390m in share deal with Angola's 'General Dino'".28 September 2021.
- ^"Un sulfureux pétrolier vend sa villa pour 60 millions".Le Temps.10 October 2021.
- ^"Switzerland tackles more international bribery cases but gaps remain".7 July 2021.
- ^"Glencore to plead guilty to bribery charges and pay $1.5bn penalty".25 May 2022.
- ^Stempel, Jonathan."Novartis pays $729 million to settle U.S. kickback charges".Reuters.Retrieved26 June2024.
- ^"Bank Julius Baer Admits Laundering Over $36 Million in Bribes in FIFA Case".US Department of Justice.US Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York.
- ^"Glencore prepares to pay up to $1.5 bln to settle U.S., UK, Brazil probes".Reuters.May 25, 2022.
- ^"Switzerland, US 'The Most Corrupt'".9 February 2018.
- ^"Credit Suisse told to tighten money-laundering compliance by US".23 December 2020.
- ^"Switzerland remains top of 'financial secrecy' ranking as US rises to second".31 January 2018.Retrieved18 July2019.
- ^"Why Switzerland remains at the heart of corruption in sport".March 2022.
External links[edit]
Major topics | |||||||||
| History |  | ||||||||
| Geography |
| ||||||||
| Politics | |||||||||
| Economy | |||||||||
| Society |
| ||||||||