Swiss ban anonymous bank accounts

[phoebe]

apologies if already posted.

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040630-040808-4255r.htm

Geneva, Switzerland, Jun. 30 (UPI) -- Beginning July 1, Swiss banks will no longer offer anonymous, numbered accounts in an effort to fight fraud and terrorist financing.

The emblematic anonymous numbered Swiss bank account has been part of the country's identity for over a century, but the country's latest anti-money laundering law, which goes into effect Thursday, will not allow customers to open accounts without revealing their identity, Swiss news agency Swissworld reports.

more..

http://nzz.ch/2004/06/30/english/page-synd4885025.html

Time runs out for numbered bank account

snip

But Geneva-based banking lawyer Carlo Lombardini questions the effectiveness of the new ordinance.

snip

The origins of the latest ordinance can be traced back to a set of directives issued by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) - a Paris-based organisation responsible for coordinating global efforts to crack down on money laundering.

A special FATF recommendation on terrorist financing calls on countries to force banks to include “accurate and meaningful information on money transfers”.

The FATF also urges that measures should be put in place to “ensure that financial institutions conduct enhanced scrutiny of transfers which do not contain name, address and account number”.

more..

[Old and In the Way]

1. Too much money parked in their banking system, most likely.

So how will this information be shared?

[cliss]

2. Look for a recent depositor named

L. Paul Bremer. His account will be easy to spot: it will have $3 billion in "leftover" funds from Iraq.

[Don_G]

4. The Cayman Islands Are More Likely

Absolute privacy and immune to any queries from the IRS.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

3. Oh dear...

Whatever will happen to the Bush family fortune?

[uptown ruler]

5. this should be interesting...

Spreading The Word
The Irony Curtain Shop

[Zynx]

6. Am I still allowed to open one with fake ID?

Which I'm sure you can buy in Zurich.

Then again, for only $30K or so, there are South Pacific islands that will let you *own* a bank.