Yours truly is actually quite a huge fan of Switzerland. I spent a year living there when I was a very small child. I ‘blame’ that wonderful experience for my enduring love for the mountains, hiking, snow, gorgeous landscapes, giant chess sets (hi, Parc des Bastions!), and wild nature. Some of my earliest and most vivid memories are from going on walks in the mountains with my tiny little boots.

So, I genuinely understand the fascination with the country. To me, Switzerland represents freedom, nature, and beauty. But I’m a bit biased!

Switzerland had a population of around 8.9 million people in 2024 and boasts four official languages (Romansh, French, German, and Italian). The country’s GDP was a jaw-dropping $800.6 billion in 2021, according to the World Bank. Switzerland, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, has a very high-tech economy and a powerful banking sector of world renown.

Some of us automatically think of high-quality cheese and chocolate, as well as hand-crafted clocks and watches when we think of Switzerland; however, that's only the tip of the iceberg. The country's main exports include machinery, equipment, chemical and pharmaceutical products, watches, textiles, and apparel, as well as raw materials, food, vegetable oils, and fuel. 

Alas! Not everything is great in this Alpine paradise. It’s this same powerful banking sector that has earned Switzerland a reputation for corruption and secrecy. It's a reputation that the Swiss have been trying to shake off for a while now.

A 2018 study conducted by the Tax Justice Network, an independent international advocacy group, found that the country was the most corrupt in the entire world, with the United States coming in second place.

A few years after that, in 2022, the Tax Justice Network changed its ranking. The US rose to first place in the financial secrecy index, with Switzerland taking the silver. In third place that year you'd find Singapore, followed by Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Japan, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, the British Virgin Islands, as well as Guernsey.

According to the Tax Justice Network, Switzerland “supplies 3.43% of the world's financial secrecy.” Meanwhile, Transparency International notes that “for decades, corrupt elites from across the world have used Swiss financial intermediaries and service providers to take advantage of legal loopholes that allow them to hide and launder their ill-gotten wealth.” However, the Swiss government is taking steps to tackle these issues.

"The analysis of past cases sheds light on the role of Switzerland as an important hub where corrupt foreign elites can easily find intermediaries to create and manage companies and trusts for them," Transparency International wrote in early 2024.

"For far too long, Swiss lawyers have been able to do so without due diligence and reporting duties to detect money laundering. Last year, the Swiss government proposed new legislation to extend anti-money laundering obligations to lawyers and other professionals and, while there is much room for improvement, this is welcome."

In this particular case, this won't be the first time that the Swiss authorities have tried to reform the system.

"This is not the first attempt to bring much-needed regulation to the sector. In 2021, following lobbying by the industry, the parliament watered down amendments to the anti-money laundering legislation during their final deliberations. As a result, lawyers and notaries were able to escape regulation," Transparency International stated.

Have you ever been to Switzerland, dear Pandas? How was your experience? If you still haven’t traveled there, do you have plans to visit in the near future? What do you look forward to doing the most? We’d love to hear all of your thoughts on Swiss life, so if you have a moment, tell us all about it in the comments!