Suchergebnisse für Settlement Procedure

Sanctions Américaines: Extraterritorialité et Risques Bancaires

A Swiss bank operating in the US must comply with applicable US laws. Difficulties may arise from the „off-shore“ application of US sanctions. The US sanctions regime is well known¹, especially through the publications of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)² and through the calls for caution issued by the banking supervisory authority³. This contribution provides an update on the…

To Infinity and Beyond: U.S. Dollar-Based Jurisdiction in the U.S. Sanctions Context

The power to print the world’s dominant currency gives the United States enormous leverage in pursuing its geopolitical objectives. This is particularly evident in the sanctions context, where the mere “use” of the U.S. financial system will pull parties into U.S. jurisdiction even if they are located outside the United States. This article highlights the recent extensions of jurisdictional…

Vollgeld-Initiative und Alternativkonzepte

A full-reserve banking system as requested by a Swiss popular initiative would not bring the promised benefits. Accepting the initiative would entail unforeseeable risks for the Swiss economy. To prevent these risks, vol­untary full-reserve accounts have been suggested to complement the existing fractional reserve system. This article discusses possible concepts for such vol­untary full-reserve…

Relevance of WTO Law for Financial Services Lessons from “Argentina – Financial Services”

In the past debates about financial markets regulations the fact that most countries are Member States of the World Trade Organization (WTO) was often neglected. Through its recent decision “Argentina – Financial Services” the WTO Dispute Settlement Body now shifted the focus to the impact of WTO law on financial services. Even if very concrete findings have not been given, the assessment of the…

The Extraterritorial Application of U.S. Financial Services Regulation

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seeks to regulate non-U.S. domiciled financial firms when U.S. investors’ interests are affected. In 2010, in Morrison v. National Australia Bank, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the circumstances when extraterritorial regulation is appropriate. Although most articles about the Morrison decision focus attention on when the SEC can sue non-U.S. firms for…

Swiss Bank Program: Non Prosecution Agreements Implementation & Beyond

The United States Department of Justice’s Swiss Bank Program undoubtedly accounts for one of the most ­ambitious global foreign enforcement of U.S. tax laws. The resulting Non-Prosecution Agreements – signed by a record of 80 banks – were reached after long, demanding internal investigations and cooperation efforts with U.S. authorities. But, these NPAs are not the end. To the contrary, they…

Swiss Multinational Enterprises and Transnational Corruption: Management Matters

In 2016, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland sanctioned a Swiss corporation for having bribed a Libyan Minister. The same year, it opened a criminal proceeding against the Swiss bank BSI for its involvement in the corruption scandals surrounding the Malaysian company 1MDB. Swiss corporations are also currently under investigation in the Brazilian Petrobras scandal. At the…

Know Your Customer : Quo Vadis ?

Know your client (KYC) is now an essential due diligence requirement for all banking business. The concept only appeared relatively recently in legislation, however, in conjunction with increased efforts to combat organised crime and money laundering. For around 40 years, the scope and content of know your client has continued to expand, sometimes in stark contrast to other standards. This article…

Towards Automatic Exchange of Information

This article describes the various steps that led towards automatic exchange of information as the global standard and the issues that remain to be solved. First, the various competing models of exchange information, such as Double Tax Treaty (DTT), TIEA’s, FATCA or UE Directives are described with a view to show how they interact between themselves. Second, the so-called Rubik Strategy is…

La législation britannique contre la corruption : application du Bribery Act aux personnes suisses

The UK Bribery Act is an ambitious legislative initiative and the centerpiece of the British legal framework against corruption. In addition to the classic criminal offences (active and passive bribery, corruption in the public and in the private sector), the Bribery Act introduces a remarkable form of criminal liability for legal persons. The new corporate offence and the extraterritorial reach…