SWISS BANKERS CLAIM SECRECY IS OVERRATED

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000800050056-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 18, 2000
• Sequence Number: 56
• Publication Date: August 26, 1963
• Content Type: NSPR

Swi s e~ l in SqC C-'. Is Overt
r 0 e b
tm
+ S to reveal any, iInformation
a
sidles intoa ass bank man' depositors even to Swiss to d of lav~~bidlrig
x a
ager's office, ripens an ele? authorities, make it impos citizen t treasure troves
Sant suitcase': full of batik gable to estimate how many of Intern Dona intrigue_
"l want. toopen a number
account."
Swiss banking officiAls say
such an `incident isn't pos-
sible. Yet for years the world
has hummed with stories of
illicit f o r t u nit a in Swiss
vaults.
Deposed South American
dictators, Mideast oil sheiks,
African politicians, crooks,
shady businessmen or sim-
But one official says they are
mostly foreigners.
He insisted there is no such
thing as absolute anonymity,
even with a . numbered ac-
count. "Anyone opening such
an account must identify him-
self to enable the bank to
check up on hirn." he said.
lie also dismissed rumors
that huge fortunes deposited
by Jews who subse
uentl
q
y
pie tax dodgers-ail are }pop- ,:died in Nazi concrattoA
ularly believed to have made 1
use of the anonymity and camps are still waitln: to he
secrecy of Swiss numbered
accounts,
Swiss ':banking executives
admit tha?t:' numbered ac-
counts.. exist:: They started
befo WorldWar It snd en-
able~German .businessmen
to deposit money without the
knowledge of the Nazi gov-
ernmcnt
?-Onekexecutive,'reports num-
bered aecbuitts` are now on
the wing. "15ransactldilig; with
number accounts are'partfcu-"
larly complicated and costly,
he said. !,We,dpn't like these.
accounts ',arid we are not in
tereated In "facilitating the;
shadytransactions of foreign
dictators."
But the stories persist. The
1 a t e a tone concerned the
Swedish air force colonel"'
Stig Wennerstroem, accused,,
of spying for 16 years for the
Soviet Union. He reportedly
was paid off through a secret
Swiss bank account, although
claimed.
"ilolders of these accounts
always make arrangements
for the disposal of their
money in case of death," he
Fluid..; '.}1'e haven't been left
with such a deposit because
of' the death of the holder
for 30 years."
IN CASES. where there is
no formal proof of death, 'k
recent legislation enables the-17,
bank to pay out deposits to
next of kin who produce
reasonable evidence t h a t
death must be presumed.
Under Swiss banking laws,
the holder of a numbered
account may not signs check,
use his money to invest in
Switzerland's economy, or
;make stock'cx'?hange trans-
actions.
He draws no Interest and
even has to pay a small fine
of one quarter per cent If he
wants to withdraw his de-
oosit within six months.
THE Swiss banks-led by
the "Big Three," thc~
Credit Suisse, Swiss BaH
Corp., and the Union Bank o
Switzerland-retort that nn?,
bered account first of i
.gets a thorough going-over,
'rhe S%% ass have found
ankin(; secrecy An asset in
!?titans, their currency. and
CPYRGHT