In the press - "Suisse Secrets": "The law on bank secrecy hinders the freedom of the Swiss press"

The +

On the front page of the press, revelations about Credit Suisse, accused of having secretly hosted nearly 100 billion euros, part of which on behalf of sulphurous clients.

“Until now, Swiss bank accounts have been a well-kept secret behind thick walls, but (thanks to an anonymous source) we are able to show how dictators and criminals hid their money,” reports the

. .

According to the German newspaper, the whistleblower at the origin of these revelations, affirms that his objective is to denounce Swiss banking secrecy, presented as a "fig leaf" intended to hide "the collaboration of Swiss banks with fraudsters tax".

speaks of clients "involved in cases of torture, drug trafficking, money laundering, and other serious crimes", including "a human trafficker in the Philippines, a boss of the stock exchange from Hong Kong imprisoned for corruption, from executives accused of looting the Venezuelan state oil company or from corrupt politicians, from Egypt to Ukraine".

Guardian front page, Monday 21 February 2022: Last-ditch talks as fears of Ukraine war intensify pic.twitter.com/SwBW1FTMMV

— The Guardian (@guardian) February 20, 2022

Credit Suisse "firmly rejects" these accusations, which it describes as "allegations" and "insinuations".

But beyond the case of this establishment,

is concerned that the sacrosanct article 47 of the Swiss banking law was not only reinforced in 2014, to severely punish anyone transmitting confidential banking information to a third party - which can be punishable by 5 years in prison, but also that this article has been extended to actors other than bankers, also threatening whistleblowers and journalists.

This means that the risk of prosecution weighs both on the whistleblower who disclosed this information, on the

, but also on all the newspapers with which he shared this information.

Le Monde

notes that "to date, this law has never been used against information professionals", but that it nevertheless "poses a heavy threat, in particular for Swiss journalists", this which would also explain why no Swiss media was associated with this investigation. "Since (2014), journalists risk being convicted if they write about stolen bank data.

For this reason, our newspaper had to give up investigating the customers of Credit Suisse", regrets

- where Schaad's drawing shows Switzerland gagging its journalists, to the greatest satisfaction of criminals around the world.

Also on the front page, the intensification of diplomatic efforts in recent hours to prevent war in Ukraine.

At the end of a frantic diplomatic race, Emmanuel obtained, yesterday, from Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin the holding of a summit on the situation in Ukraine - a summit which can only take place "if Russia does not invade not Ukraine", according to L'Élysée, quoted by

.

The magazine also cites

, which notes that the French president "has spared no effort to convince his counterparts".

According to the British daily, "this diplomatic glow" suggests that Vladimir Putin could be

prepared not to take the step of a full invasion of Ukraine, in order to allow further talks', and that 'if not, then he would be engaged in a very sophisticated deception of the French'.

Deception or not?

The Russian daily

hypothesizes, in any case, that "the time of olive branches could be over".

And an outbreak of violence in eastern Ukraine is said to be behind the decision, announced by

, of Belarus and Russia to continue their joint military exercises, supposed to end yesterday.

The crisis in Ukraine is widely discussed this morning by press cartoonists across the Channel.

Nicola Jennings, for

, shows Emmanuel Macron perched on Olaf Scholz, himself supported by Joe Biden, who tramples Boris Johnson, trying to stop Vladimir Putin's tank, with the NATO flag - under the eye of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

President Putin, featured in Brian Adcock's cartoon, for

, again, promising he has no ulterior motives.

But the Russian doll hides inside itself the monster of war.

British press cartoonists are also returning this morning to much less dramatic news, though.

Queen Elizabeth II has tested positive for Covid-19.

Luckily for her, her symptoms are mild, according to Buckingham Palace.

But the news comes badly for Boris Johnson, ironically Morten Morland for

, since the Prime Minister must unveil today his strategy for "living with the Covid", despite the many criticisms of this perhaps premature end to the last health restrictions.

“We have defeated the Covid”, proclaims Downing Street.

“What, Queen?” chokes Boris Johnson, as an adviser informs him of Her Majesty's positivity.

Today's @thetimes cartoon https://t.co/RLirsRzhQg pic.twitter.com/NTqoUbEi4j

— Morten Morland (@mortenmorland) February 21, 2022

Find the Press Review every morning on France 24 (Monday to Friday, at 7:20 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. Paris time).

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