Corruption in Switzerland

Switzerland has a legal framework to combat corruption and several authorities are in charge of curbing the levels of it, particularly when it comes to corruption within Swiss financial institutions.[1] Several sources suggest that the country's fight against corruption has been effective.[2] However, efforts to combat corruption, especially with respect to political party financing have been described as unsatisfactory.[3]

Council of Europe's Group of State Against Corruption (GRECO) in its evaluation report noted that specificities of Switzerland's institutions which enjoy considerable public confidence. It underlines, however, that the very organisation of the system allows subtle pressure to be exerted on politicians and the judiciary.[4]

Transparency International's 2018 Corruption Perception Index ranks the Switzerland as the 3rd least corrupt state out of 180 countries.[5]

The Transparency International Global Barometer 2013 shows that 58% of the surveyed households believe that corruption has not changed over the past two years, and 28% believe that it has actually increased. The same survey also shows that political parties are considered the most corrupt institution in Switzerland.[6]

The police and courts are generally open and fair with little bribery or corruption. Cases of excessive force, lengthy detention and abuse against migrants or asylum seekers have been reported. In some cases police officers have been given suspended sentences or suspended fines for using excessive force while arresting individuals.[3]

Regarding business and corruption, companies do not consider corruption a problem for doing business in Switzerland, and Swiss companies are active in Corporate Social Responsibility that are generally in line with OECD Guidelines for multinational enterprises.[7]

But the Swiss system has also enabled some types of organisation to operate with little or no transparency or oversight such as those linked to commodities trade.[8][9] For example, International sporting organisations (ISO's) can have the legal status of an international Non Governmental Organisation. Encouraged by the resulting range of legal and fiscal privileges, something like 50 such ISO's are based in the Canton of Vaud alone.

In 2018 the Tax Justice Network ranked Switzerland's banking sector as the "most corrupt" in the world due to a large offshore banking industry and very strict secrecy laws. The ranking attempts to measure how much assistance the country's legal systems provide to money laundering, and to protecting corruptly obtained wealth.[10][11]