Swiss money trail: From gold & diamond to stocks & bitcoins

June 29, 2014

Swiss Gold
Zurich/New Delhi, Jun 29: As Switzerland commits to cooperate in India's fight against black money, a new strategy of 'layering' through gold and diamond trade has come to light at Swiss banks to thwart any attempt for identification of real beneficiary owners of funds entrusted with them.

The activities and avenues being used for such 'layering' include diamond trade, gold and other jewellery exports, stock market transactions through use of complex funds, as also the fund transfer through new-age virtual currencies like bitcoin.

At a time when Switzerland has been facing intense pressure to act on the alleged use of Swiss banks for stashing black money by Indians, the government data of the Alpine nation shows that India has become the top destination for its gold exports with trade worth close to 6 billion Swiss francs (about Rs 40,000 crore) since the beginning of this year.

According to government and banking sources, there is a growing suspicion that a portion of gold and diamond trade is being used to route funds from Swiss banks to India and other destinations.

At the same time, the banks in Switzerland are now getting an undertaking signed by their clients, where the customer agrees to take responsibility for any possible regulatory or administrative compliance with international norms.

The development regarding alleged use of diamond and gold trade, as also stock market transactions and bitcoins, for layering of black money comes at a time when there has been an intense debate about Swiss authorities' assistance in India's fight against black money, which has been a politically sensitive issue in the country.

A senior Swiss government official recently said that Switzerland was ready to help India with data under its 'spontaneous information exchange' initiative on a proactive basis, although the European country continues to resist any information-sharing on requests based on 'stolen data'.

The statement triggered a major debate and Switzerland's Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF) issued a public statement on this matter. Some reports went on to suggest that Swiss authorities have already shared a list of Indians alleged to have stashed black money, but any such development was denied by both the government.

When contacted, SIF spokesperson Mario Tuor confirmed that the Swiss authorities "are in contact with the Indian government", but refused to share further details.

In reply to emailed queries, Tuor said that Switzerland is looking forward to working together with the new government in India in its fight against tax evasion.

Tuor, however, refused to comment on his reported remarks that Switzerland has not shared any list with India, neither it was preparing one for sharing with the Indian authorities.

The other routes being tapped by some Swiss bankers and their clients for 'layering' of their funds include art works, as also virtual currencies, they added.

'Layering' is generally second stage of money laundering process and this involves moving illicit funds around the financial system through a complex series of transactions to complicate the paper trail.

This 'layering' typically takes place between the first stage -- 'placement' of black money in the financial system either in cash vaults, or through a series of cash or sham financial transactions -- and before the final 'integration' stage when money is put back into the financial system through various transactions for the benefit of its final recipient.

The latest data compiled by Switzerland's Federal Customs Administration (FCA) shows that exports to India of gold, silver and coins to India has been rising consistently since January this year (981 million Swiss francs) and reached 1.2 billion Swiss francs (about Rs 8,000 crore) in May 2014.

Moreover, India accounted for over 32 per cent of entire Swiss exports of such items during May, up from just about 14 per cent at the beginning of this year. In the process, India has overtaken China as biggest destination for Swiss gold exports. Interestingly, Switzerland's overall gold export figures have fallen in recent months, but exports to India are rising.

Under global pressure, Switzerland decided earlier this year to provide country-wise breakdown of its gold trade.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global financial crimes combating body, had also said in one of its recent reports that India is one of the five countries where instances have been found that trade accounts of diamond business are being used to launder illegal funds.

Switzerland is also in the process of easing its various regulations, including those related to sharing of information with foreign jurisdictions in cases of suspected tax evasion and other financial crimes.

When asked whether India would be a beneficiary for automatic information exchange once a revised Tax Administrative Assistance Act comes into force in August, SIF spokesperson declined to give any direct answer and said it would depend on various developments within the country.

"Switzerland is actively taking part in international efforts aimed at better combating tax fraud and evasion such as the development of a worldwide standard for automatic exchange of information. Like India, Switzerland has endorsed the declaration on automatic exchange of information..." Tuor said.

On specific query that whether India would benefit, the spokesperson said that Switzerland would first wait until the new global standard on automatic exchange in tax matters has been defined by the OECD and accepted by the G20.

"Secondly, the Swiss government will propose how to implement the new standard in Switzerland. Thirdly, the Swiss parliament will decide on the government's proposals... I can't give you any further details," Tuor said.

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News Network
April 27,2024

UScop.jpg

"I always wanted to be in a bar fight," said a US police official after pinning a Black man down on the ground and kneeling on his neck. The man later died at a hospital.

Ohio Police have come under intense scrutiny following the release of body camera footage showing officers pinning a Black man to the ground in a bar, reminiscent of the events that led to George Floyd's death in 2020.

The video, released by the Canton Police Department, captured the moments leading up to the death of Frank Tyson, a 53-year-old man suspected of leaving the scene of a single-car accident on April 18.

In the footage, officers are seen confronting Tyson inside a bar, where an altercation quickly ensues. Despite Tyson's pleas for help and his repeated cries of "I can't breathe," officers wrestle him to the ground and handcuff him, with one officer applying pressure to his back near his neck while saying, "You're fine." 

Tyson continues to plead for relief while lying on the floor. After several minutes, officers notice his lack of responsiveness and proceed to administer CPR. Paramedics arrive on the scene and transport Tyson to a local hospital, where he later dies.

In the body cam footage, one police officer can be heard bragging about how he always wanted to be in a "bar fight" with one of the patrons of the establishment. 

The circumstances surrounding Tyson's death draw chilling parallels to George Floyd's fatal encounter with Minneapolis Police in 2020 which sparked global outrage. 

The officers involved in Tyson's case, identified as Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch, have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. 

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News Network
April 28,2024

USprotest.jpg

Campuses of several US Universities have been witnessing massive protests with the students seeking a ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas. Police have arrested over 550 protesters and some universities are witnessing violent crackdown of protests by the ruthless cops. 

Law enforcement officials at the behest of college administrators have deployed tasers and tear gas against students protesters at Atlanta's Emory University, even though the protests have been largely peaceful, say activists and media personnel present at the spot.

Emil' Keme, professor of English and Indigenous studies, at the University said that the scene reminded him of the civil war in Guatemala as a teenager.

"Police immediately began to force people to move. I felt like I was in a war zone, with all the police and their weapons, the rubber bullets. We were pushed away," Mr Keme told the Guardian describing what happened as soon as cops entered the Emory campus.

“Police took the student next to me, pushed an older lady nearby and then pushed me.”

Student protesters say they are expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where the confirmed death toll has topped 34,305, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. They want universities to cut their investments in everything tied to Israel and weapons that fuel the war in Gaza. That means funds run by BlackRock, Google as well as Amazon's cloud service, Lockheed Martin and even Airbnb.

Video circulated widely on social media shows two women who identified themselves as professors being detained, with one of them slammed to the ground by one officer as a second officer then pushes her chest and face onto a concrete sidewalk.

Atlanta police and Georgia troopers are leading a joint operation within the campus to dismantle the tents and camps the activists have set up at the school's quadrangle. Within minutes of the authorities entering the campus, 28 people, 20 of whom were "Emory community members", had been arrested, the institute said in a statement.

The school president said that the videos of police clashing with the students "are shocking" and that he is "horrified horrified that members of our community had to experience and witness such interactions."

The university's response was likely the quickest show of police force in response to a divestment protest among the dozens nationwide that have occurred in recent weeks. It was also probably the only one where pepper balls, stun guns and rubber bullets were used.

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News Network
April 28,2024

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Students in Paris blocked access to a campus building at a French university on Friday, as pro-Palestine demonstrations reach Europe.

The students occupied the central campus building of the Paris Institute of Political Studies, known as Sciences Po, and dozens of others blocked its entrance, echoing protest action at American universities.

Students inspired by Gaza solidarity encampments at campuses in the United States blocked access to a campus building at the prestigious French university on Friday.

They blocked the entrance with trash cans, wooden platforms and other items.

The occupation of the Paris university campus came after police broke up a separate protest at the university’s amphitheater outside one of its Paris campuses.

Scores of student protesters gathered at the building’s windows, chanting slogans and holding placards reading “We are all Palestinians,” in defiance of administrators who students say called the police on their peers two days earlier.

Pro-Palestinian student protesters had occupied the amphitheater outside one of the university’s Paris campuses on Wednesday evening.

The US-style student protests, which began over the months-long Israeli regime’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, kicked off in the United States and have now spread to European capitals as well as Australia.

In the German capital Berlin, several people were arrested as police violently cleared a camp of Gaza war protesters at the German parliament.

Pro-Palestinian activists are demanding a permanent ceasefire, an end to the Israeli atrocities, and an arms embargo of the Tel Aviv regime.

The Israeli regime launched the war on Gaza on October 7 last year. The genocidal war has killed more than 34,356 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

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