Swiss banking secrecy law clashes with freedom of speech

Journalists publishing leaked data of Credit Suisse bank clients could face up to five years in prison under Swiss law. Fear of criminal sanctions prevented Swiss media from participating in the “Suisse Secrets” investigation and raised questions over freedom of speech in Switzerland. “The fact that bank data is being leaked in foreign media today, while there is a ban on research in Switzerland, is an absurdity that must be abolished,” Arthur Rutishauser, editor-in-chief of Switzerland’s largest media group, Zurich-based Tamedia, wrote in an op-ed. Violating the confidentiality of clients has been a codified crime for bankers in Switzerland since 1934. A spate of data leaks to Germany and other countries saw banking laws extended in 2015 to make it an offence for anyone to make use of such stolen information, including journalists. This placed media like the Tages Anzeiger in an awkward situation when a whistleblower offered details of Credit Suisse clients, including dictators...