Nikolai MARCHENKO,
investigative journalist
Since the 1940s, the Swiss Confederation has periodically been at the center of international scandals as a “cash box” or “safe” for illegal capital. Behind the facade of banking secrecy, accounts linked to dictators, corrupt politicians, drug trafficking, money laundering and illegal arms trade have been repeatedly revealed.
From Nazi gold to today's offshore schemes
In 2019-2020, the investigative journalism website “Bivol” and the Venezuelan investigative website Armando Info wrote that some of the funds frozen in a Bulgarian bank at the request of the US Embassy, linked to the “treasurer” of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, may have passed through Swiss banks.
In 2026, Swiss banks were again accused of participating in illegal financial operations. The US Treasury Department has named the bankrupt MBaer Bank as a participant in a scheme to launder proceeds from the illegal sale of millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil and circumvent US sanctions. According to the US Treasury Department, “for years, the bank directly or indirectly assisted in laundering money for illegal entities, including Russian and Iranian individuals“.
A year earlier - in 2025 - the Swiss federal prosecutor's office fined two banks - J. Safra Sarasin SA and Pictet Bank - for similar violations, this time related to laundering funds for high-ranking Brazilian officials.
If we look beyond recent years, a consistent trend emerges. During World War II, Switzerland played a key role in the trade in Nazi gold. A significant part of it was looted from the reserves of occupied countries such as Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway, as well as from concentration camp victims.
After the end of the war, the confederation refused for a long time to return the assets to the heirs of the victims of the Holocaust. Only in 1998, under strong international pressure, did the leading Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse agree to pay compensation of about $1.25 billion.
21st Century Revelations in Suisse Secrets
In 2015, a data leak from the Swiss division of the bank HSBC dealt a serious blow to the country's reputation. The documents showed that the bank served dictators, arms and drug traffickers, as well as high-ranking corrupt individuals, managing accounts worth a total of about $100 billion.
An investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) revealed that among the clients were:
• Rami Makhlouf - cousin of former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, considered one of the main "purses" of the Syrian regime;
• Rashid Mohamed Rashid - former Egyptian minister, after the fall of the Hosni Mubarak regime was accused of corruption and theft of state funds;
• Franz Merceron - an official in the Haitian dictatorship, linked to financial abuses of the regime;
• Gennady Timchenko - a major Russian businessman linked to dictator Vladimir Putin, who is on sanctions lists.
In 2022, another major data leak occurred from the Swiss Credit Suisse. The Suisse Secrets investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) has definitively cemented the reputation of the Swiss banking system as a structure serving individuals associated with corruption, crime, and authoritarian regimes.
Among them were: the key lobbyist of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Hassan Tatanki, the families of African dictators Sani Abacha (Nigeria) and Mobutu Sese Seko (Congo), as well as the head of Peru's special services, Vladimiro Montesinos, convicted of corruption and arms trafficking.
Also according to Suisse Secrets, the Italian businessman Antonio Velardi, suspected of mafia ties, drug smuggling, and money laundering, was a Credit Suisse client for many years. It is believed that through his Swiss accounts he legalized mafia income.
The Swiss bank even opened accounts for individuals who were on the US and EU sanctions lists. For example, for Billy Rautenbach - a businessman linked to Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe, accused of corruption, illegal financial schemes and exploitation of resources in African countries. However, Credit Suisse continued to manage his accounts and carry out his transactions.
Bank accounts of Islamists
In addition to banking scandals, Switzerland has also come into the spotlight for alleged ties to radical Islamist organizations. In the book Qatar Papers, the country is described as a "cash cow" for the Muslim Brotherhood.
According to the authors, based on leaked documents from the Qatar Charity fund, a number of Islamic centers funded by Qatar operate in Switzerland. They are seen as instruments for influencing and spreading the organization's ideology in Europe.
Switzerland has traditionally built its international image on the principles of political neutrality and detachment. However, the scandals accumulated over the decades paint a different picture - a financial system that has repeatedly served dictatorships, international criminal networks and controversial economic interests.
All this raises the question of whether Switzerland's "neutrality" is built on sound principles or is it more of a convenient facade for global financial operations with money of dubious origin?