The «Suisse Secrets» leaks have shaken Swiss finance to its very core. It is time to set things straight on whistleblowing, experts warn finews.com.
The «Soporific Debtor» has it in for Swiss banking secrecy, saying that it is simply a way to evade taxes. «I think that Swiss banking secrecy is immoral», is a quote attributed to him even though no-one knows who he is.
That same can't be said about his actions. The anonymous whistleblower leaked detailed information on 18,000 Credit Suisse accounts to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). Since then, the international media has been reporting extensively on the data, accusing Switzerland's second-largest bank of maintaining client relationships with criminals and corrupt government heads for decades.
Severe Blow
It is a severe blow for Credit Suisse in that authorities, stakeholders and NGOs are examining the significant release of information very closely. It should also be a lesson for Swiss finance, not least about how to deal with internal whistleblowers.
«In the digital era, banks can be victims to employees with access to massive amounts of data that they can then go public with,» Thomas Wittkopf told finews.com. He is the head of Swiss Telag, which has been providing the industry with solutions that protect whistleblowers since 2004.
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