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In Swiss Commodities Deals, Banks Can Inch Close to Corruption, Says Expert

Switzerland's virtually unregulated commodities market can be vulnerable to criminal tax evasion, money laundering and other financial crimes, all without the banks involved ever knowing, according to Andreas Missbach, the joint managing director of the Zurich-based nongovernmental organization The Berne Declaration. The market, which is also used for legal tax avoidance, is so opaque that it could ultimately draw the same level of scrutiny that Switzerland's banking sector has been under since the 2009 deferred prosecution of UBS AG, said Missbach. In most instances, the financial institutions servicing the market have little incentive to look closely at whether the companies...

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