GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – US President Barack Obama’s surprise visit to Afghanistan 1 May has focused world attention on the country itself, but a two-day conference 2-3 May in Geneva is looking at the ramifications of 30 years of war in Afghanistan for refugees in two neighbouring countries. Some 40 international organizations and representatives from 60 countries are attending the conference, where host UNHCR (UN refugee organization) and Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran are unveiling their plans for “a joint strategy to find lasting, coherent and unified solutions to the problem of Afghan refugees and internally displaced persons”, according to Didier Burkhalter, head of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), who opened the conference Wednesday.
“Participants will be asked to support programmes in Afghanistan to increase the sustainability of refugee returns. The new strategy also seeks the commitment of the international community to support the host countries of the Afghan refugees. This is the first joint action with humanitarian and development actors and will contribute to the stability of the region,” says Bern in a statement.
“Still too early” says Swiss government to say how much money is involved
EU reportedly decides today if it will follow Swiss example
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Assets held in Switzerland, now or in the past, by former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak and his family and friends may not easily be traced, but details are beginning to surface in Bern, the Swiss Foreign Affairs Department (FAD) told GenevaLunch Tuesday.
The Swiss government announced late Friday 11 February a new ordinance requiring banks and other financial institutions to freeze assets for a group of 12 individuals in the Mubarak entourage.
“It’s still too early to provide more information, for example, the amount of money involved,” FAD spokesperson Jenny Piaget says.
The European Union is reportedly considering Tuesday if it should follow the Swiss example and move to freeze Mubarak’s assets.
The Swiss ordinance requires “persons or institutions that hold or manage assets or who have any knowledge of financial resources that fall within the scope of assets blocked” by the ordinance “must declare this information immediately to the Directorate of International Law (ed. note, part of the foreign ministry).” The declaration must provide the name of the asset-holder, the object itself and the value of assets and financial resources that have been frozen.”
Swiss bankers, others with Mubarak asset information required to alert Bern quickly
The fine for not providing information is CHF20,000 plus a fine of 10 times the value of the object, whether it is bank funds or real estate or other assets.
There has been widespread speculation about the amount of money the former Egyptian president has in Switzerland or elsewhere. The amounts estimated by some sources appear to be exaggerated, in light of the overall amounts of money that have moved between Switzerland and Egypt in recent years.
Egyptian money in Switzerland has fallen since 2005 Read more…
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The federal police and foreign affairs departments have agreed to back the Swiss attorney general’s office to press charges against a prominent Geneva politician at the request of Libya. The two departments announced Thursday 18 November that Libya had formally requested that charges be pressed against Eric Stauffer, president of the Mouvement citoyens genevois (MCG), for “outrage” (insults) against a foreign government.
The foreign government in question must file the request with the Swiss Foreign Affairs Department before Swiss authorities can act on it.
Stauffer, who has recently had a number of conflicts with authorities in Geneva, has backed his party’s use of a poster featuring Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffi in campaigns for the 28 November popular referendum on sending foreign criminals back to their home countries.
Michael Ambuehl, Switzerland's State Secretary for International Financial and Tax Matters
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Michael Ambuehl has been named Switzerland’s State Secretary for International Financial and Tax Matters, head of a new secretariat within the Federal Finance Department. Ambuehl is probably best known as the man who negotiated the UBS arrangement with the United States Justice Department in early 2009. The new secretariat “will serve the purpose of reinforcing Switzerland’s international position in financial and tax matters,” the official announcement states.
The new office will be responsible for Switzerland’s interests in the International Monetary Fund and in the Financial Stability Board, and it will “actively participate in international efforts to combat financial crime. Moreover, it will analyze developments in the financial markets in Switzerland and abroad, and will further develop legislation concerning the financial sector.”
Ambuehl is thus charged with overseeing Switzerland’s ambitious project to play a more aggressive role in international finance and tax matters, as it tries to shed a reputation as a tax haven, which the Swiss say is largely a misperception.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Swiss government says it “deplores” the fact that it was obliged 15 July to inform Swiss banks and the heirs to accounts that belonged to former Zaire (now DR Congo) dictator Mobutu Sese Seko that nearly CHF8 million in Swiss banks must be unfrozen, meaning the money returns to the family. “The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs deplores this result, which marks the end of 12 years of freezing of the assets in which all conceivable solutions were attempted. Since 1997 the Confederation has gone to considerable lengths to bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion.”
