Tue, Dec 20th 2022
Switzerland has retained its diplomatic relations with Iran by not adopting all sanctions against the nation.
Thanks to the intervention of Switzerland, Iran has stopped short of executing minors who were arrested for protesting against the regime, according to an interview with former Swiss ambassador to Tehran Livia Leu. In an effort to quell protests, the Middle Eastern country has begun publicly hanging protestors. “We have communicated unequivocally that the executions are unacceptable and must be stopped immediately,” Leu told local newspaper SonntagZeitung, adding “We have already been able to make things happen: thanks to our intervention, for example, death sentences against minors were not carried out.” Switzerland has adopted some sanctions against Iran, but not those pointed directly at Tehran’s repression of its citizens as those “could jeopardize our open and critical dialogue with the authorities,” Leu said. She added that Swiss Parliament “has enshrined in law that Switzerland is committed to peacebuilding.” Read more.
The Nigerian criminal network Black Axe is expanding its presence in Switzerland, according to a report in the local newspaper NZZ. The once tame student movement has evolved since its start in the 1970s into a global criminal network specializing in drugs, money laundering, human trafficking and especially online fraud. In Zürich’s Langstrasse district the group forces young Nigerian women (some minors) into prostitution, according to NZZ. These women are forced to work in order to “pay off their debts” or they disappear, according to a Trafficked Victim Unit report. “No matter where women go in the world, there are always Black Axe members who follow them, watch them and catch them again,” according to the report. The group already has more than 100 members in the country and it will “continue to grow,” according to the Federal Office of Police. Interpol says Black Axe is a security threat worldwide. Read more.
Credit Suisse’s past two years have been plagued by bad headlines and plummeting stock prices.
Credit Suisse provided a $140 million loan to Greensill Capital in 2020 so it could set up an in-house insurance firm after its main insurer rejected renewing Greensill’s policy, a Financial Times report found. Greensill collapsed months later and caught former British prime minister David Cameron (a Greensill adviser) up in the scandal. Insurance had been paramount to the products Greensill sold to investors – many of whom included wealthy Credit Suisse clients. In early 2022, Greensill’s former insurer Bond and Credit Company accused it of having “fraudulently obtained” its insurance policies. The Swiss bank told FT it was “not informed about any insurance discontinuation until 22 February 2021.” Credit Suisse is attempting to recover all lost cash for its investors. Read more.
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