politics for the 99%

Published on International Consortium of Investigative Journalists ICIJ.org, by Gerard Ryle, Will Fitzgibbon, Mar Cabra, Rigoberto Carvajal, Marina Walker Guevara, Martha M. Hamilton and Tom Stites, Feb 8, 2015.

Team of journalists from 45 countries unearths secret bank accounts maintained for criminals, traffickers, tax dodgers, politicians and celebrities.

Secret documents reveal that global banking giant HSBC profited from doing business with arms dealers who channeled mortar bombs to child soldiers in Africa, bag men for Third World dictators, traffickers in blood diamonds and other international outlaws.

The leaked files, based on the inner workings of HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm, relate to accounts holding more than $100 billion. They provide a rare glimpse inside the super-secret Swiss banking system — one the public has never seen before … //

… The ICIJ revelations also come after The Wall Street Journal reported in January that a progress report by the independent monitor appointed to the bank, a synopsis of which is expected to be made public in April, will show HSBC is failing in its attempts to reform.

(full text).

Links about Swiss Leaks:

UPDATE in german, Feb 12: »Swiss-Leaks«: Schwarze Löcher im Schweizer Bankgeheimnis, im KOPP-Verlag, Feb 10, 2015;

• on en.wikipedia … (or SwissLeaks) is the name of a journalistic investigation of a giant tax evasion scheme allegedly operated with the knowledge and encouragement of the British multinational bank HSBC via its Swiss subsidiary, HSBC Private Bank (Suisse)[1] …;
• (see also: International Consortium of Investigative Journalists: Swiss Leaks: Murky Cash Sheltered by Bank Secrecy);
• on Google News-search;
• on Google Images-search;
• on YouTube-search;
• SWISS LEAKS: MURKY CASH SHELTERED BY BANK SECRECY, special page/Index on the Internatinal Consortium of Investigative Journalists ICIJ;
• In Switzerland, Swiss Leaks from bygone era, on SwissInfo.ch, by Veronica DeVore, Feb 10, 2015;
• Swiss Leaks: US may scrap prosecution deal with HSBC, video on The Irish Times, 2.04 min, by Colm Keena, Feb 10, 2015;
• HSBC leaks: A global scandal or a storm in a Swiss tea-cup? on The Independent.co.uk, by Ben Chu, Feb 9, 2015;
• Geneva puts monetary value on eco-assets, on SwissInfo.ch, by Paula Dupraz-Dobias, Feb 9, 2015;
• HSBC files: international outcry over activities at bank’s Swiss arm, on The Guardian, by Juliette Garside, Patrick Wintour and Karen McVeigh, Feb 9, 2015;

Offshore leaks on en.wikipedia is the name of a report disclosing details of 130,000 offshore accounts in April 2013. Some observers have called it the biggest hit against international tax fraud of all times, although it has been pointed out that normal businesses may use the offshore legislation to ease formalities in international trade.[1][2] The report originated from the Washington D.C.-based investigative journalism nonprofit, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) …;