<P> Many banks in Switzerland offer clients numbered bank accounts, accounts where the identity of the holder is replaced with a multi-digit number known only to the client and select private bankers . Although these accounts do add another layer of banking secrecy, they are not completely anonymous as the name of the client is still recorded by the bank and subject to limited, warranted disclosure . Some Swiss banks supplement the number with a code name such as "Cardinal", "Octopussy" or "Cello" that identifies the client, alternatively . However, to open this type of account in Switzerland, clients must pass a multi-stage clearance procedure and prove to the bank the lawful origins of their assets . </P> <P> Many sovereign states do not legally require private bankers to confirm whether or not a client has or has not paid their taxes, in any capacity . On top of this, Switzerland's banking secrecy laws prohibit the disclosure of client information under a variety of federal, cantonal, and civil policies . Many foreign nationals open Swiss bank accounts to take advantage of these laws and tax distinctions . While citizens of Switzerland retain the full force of banking secrecy protections, foreign clients are afforded some of the most stringent bank--client confidentiality protections in the world . In exchange for banking services, the Swiss government charges "a low, lump - sum option on the money they bank", after which Swiss tax authorities consider client tax burdens "settled". After the Banking Law of 1934 was passed, Swiss bankers traveled across Europe to advertise its banking secrecy during World War II . As European countries began to increase taxes to finance the war, wealthy clients moved their holdings into Swiss accounts to avoid taxation . </P> <P> According to the 2018 Financial Secrecy Index, Switzerland's banking secrecy laws have rendered it a premier tax haven since the 1900s . One of the most prominent attractions to the disclosure protection laws is the distinction between tax evasion (non-reporting of income) and tax fraud (active deception). Akin to the distinction between legal tax avoidance and illegal tax evasion in the U.S., the non-reporting of income is only a civil offense in Switzerland while tax fraud is a financial crime . When foreign clients deposit holdings into a Swiss bank account, the bank is legally prohibited from disclosing balances or client information to tax authorities . This prohibition can only be waved if the client has produced a written statement of consent or a financial crime has been directly linked to the bank account . More often than not, clients don't consent to foreign tax authorities which leaves only the latter circumstance available . Many client services available in Switzerland (e.g. numbered bank accounts) are used to shield client data from tax authorities . </P> <P> Breaches of banking secrecy laws in Switzerland are automatically processed pursuant to Article 47 of the Banking Law of 1934: those who disclose client information are subject to a maximum of five years imprisonment and 250,000 francs (€ 215,000 or US $250,000) in fines . Whistleblowers and leakers of client information often face hostility from the public and sustain professional set backs . Denounced as a criminal in Switzerland, a federal arrest warrant has been in place for Bradley Birkenfeld since 2008, after he disclosed UBS client information to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in 2007 . After the 2008 financial crisis, the Swiss Parliament initiated a series of international tax treaties that rolled back banking secrecy protections for foreign clients in response to pressure from the European Union, United States, and United Kingdom . Despite implementing nearly 50 information transfer agreements and numerous limitations to banking secrecy protections for foreign clients, Switzerland has been ranked among the top three tax havens in the world every single year since the financial crisis, most recently in 2018 . </P>

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