瑞士銀行業報告沙特客戶賬戶異動

Switzerland’s banks have begun reporting suspicious account activity aMong some of their Saudi Arabian clients to the Swiss Money Laundering Reporting Office, part of the federal police service, say people close to the situation.

知情人士稱，瑞士各銀行紛紛開始向瑞士反洗錢報告辦公室(Swiss Money Laundering Reporting Office)報告一些沙特阿拉伯客戶的可疑賬戶活動。該辦公室是瑞士聯邦警察部門的一部分。

Lawyers acting for the banks have submitted information over the past week and expect several dozen submissions to be made in total, two people involved in the process said.

兩名參與報告過程的人士稱，代表這些銀行的律師們在過去一週提交了相關信息，這些律師還預計總共會提交數十份報告。

The exercise reflects the banks’ nervousness about being found in breach of rules governing money laundering and corruption. It follows the arrest in Saudi Arabia last month of more than 200 people, including some of the country’s richest businessmen and princes. They were detained at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh as part of an anti-graft operation launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s powerful heir apparent.

這些操作反映了銀行的緊張，生怕自己被發現違反有關洗錢和腐敗的規則。沙特阿拉伯在上月逮捕了200多人，其中包括該國一些最富有的商人和多位王子。他們被羈押在利雅得的麗思卡爾頓酒店(Ritz-Carlton Hotel)，這是沙特權力極大的王儲穆罕默德?本?薩勒曼(Mohammed bin Salman，見文首照片)發起的反腐行動的一部分。

While Swiss banks strive to protect client confidentiality, they are obliged to report suspect transactions. So far the account reports have not led to action, such as searches or freezing accounts, by Swiss authorities.

儘管瑞士各銀行努力保守客戶機密，但他們有義務舉報可疑交易。到目前爲止，有關賬戶活動的報告還沒有導致瑞士當局採取行動，比如搜查或凍結賬戶。

Saudi officials must submit a formal request if they want access to the data, which is being analysed by the Swiss authorities. “As is standard procedure, incoming information is currently being assessed,” the office of the Swiss attorney-general told the Financial Times. “At this time, criminal proceedings in this connection have not been opened.”

如果沙特官員希望訪問相關數據，他們必須提交正式申請書，目前瑞士當局正在分析這些數據。“按照標準程序，目前正在評估收到的信息，”瑞士總檢察長辦公室對英國《金融時報》表示。“目前尚未在這方面啓動刑事訴訟。”

Swiss bankers also say they have begun to prepare cash transfers on behalf of clients, as princes and business people seek to settle allegations against them. The crown prince is seeking to recover at least $100bn through the crackdown on “systematic corruption and embezzlement” that took place over several decades.

瑞士銀行業人士還表示，他們已開始準備幫客戶轉賬，因爲被抓的王子和商人紛紛尋求花錢了結針對自己的指控。王儲正力求通過打擊持續幾十年的“系統性腐敗和貪污”，收回至少1000億美元。

The Gulf state’s regulator has asked local and foreign banks to disclose if they have credit facilities and safety-deposit boxes in the names of those arrested, including billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the media-savvy investor with stakes in companies including Citigroup and Twitter.

這個海灣國家的監管機構已請求本國和外資銀行披露其有沒有在押人員開設的信貸安排和保管箱。這些人包括億萬富豪阿爾瓦利德?本?塔拉勒(Alwaleed bin Talal)王子，這個善於同媒體打交道的投資者在花旗集團(Citigroup)和Twitter等公司持有股份。