A latest report has revealed that wealth stashed by Pakistanis in Swiss banks has fallen by 50% to the lowest level of $377 million in 2019. The money directly linked to Pakistani nationals stood at CHF359.6 million or $377 million in 2019. Pakistanis have been constantly withdrawing their funds from Swiss banks since 2015 when Pakistan and Switzerland finalised a revised taxation treaty.
Switzerland has rejected Pakistan’s request to provide five years old tax information under the Automatic Exchange of Information. The bank accounts’ information that Switzerland will share in September 2021, will pertain to the accounts positions for the calendar year 2020. Since Pakistan’s demand had no legal justification, the Swiss authorities have informed that they cannot provide any information before January 2019 period.
In a major development, Switzerland will now share financial information with Pakistan which will help unearth the corrupt politicians’ foreign accounts. The Swiss parliament approved 18 more countries, including Oman, Nigeria, Azerbaijan etc. for automatic exchange of financial information (AEOI). Under this treaty, Switzerland will share the details of bank accounts held by their citizens in the country, as well as foreign citizens that have Swiss bank accounts.
The Swiss National Bank’s annual report has made a startling revelation, depicting a fall of 34% since 2017 in money deposited by Pakistanis in Switzerland. The value of CHF 724 million or $738 million calculated in 2018, has decreased 49% since 2015, when Pakistan and Switzerland finalised a revised taxation treaty. This is the lowest amount of deposits since 1996.