The Swiss aren’t all they seem

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According to Transparency International's Bribery Perceptions Index the Swiss are the least likely to bribe in the world.

According to their Corruption Perception Index the Swiss rate highly at 7th cleanest in the world.

Why then won't the Swiss sign the 2003 UN Convention against Corruption? As Alliance Sud report:

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is keen to step up its fight against corruption[.] ..Yet there is a lingering credibility problem. So far, Switzerland has not ratified the UN Convention against Corruption. The Federal Council did indeed approve the agreement at the end of November 2003 and signed it on 10 December 2003. Yet nothing further has transpired since then. ...[F]urther delays are possible if, for instance, contrary to expectations, it became necessary to modify Swiss law or if the banks do not like the terms and conditions for the return of dictator's assets. Rumours are that some in the financial centre would at any rate be happy to annul many of the stricter measures taken in recent years against money-laundering and curtail international judicial assistance even further.

These positions are hard to reconcile with the Perception Indices.

It remains the case that even when the paperwork trails are good the spirit appears unwilling to use it as is required in all the offshore centres, Switzerland not least amongst them.


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