According to the latest data released by the Swiss National Bank, Pakistanis have stashed 1.5 billion francs in Swiss banks which shows a 16 percent rise in the deposits since 2015. However, the total Pakistan related funds stood at a record high level of 3.43 billion francs in 2001, which has now come down by half since then. On another note, Indian deposits have shown a steady decline of 33 percent during the last two years. Money owned by affluent individuals in the Swiss banks from the United States, China and India has started declining after the international community clampdown against Switzerland’s banking secrecy laws. India has slipped to 75th place from 61st last year while the United Kingdom remains on the top. India was among top 50 countries in terms of holdings in Swiss banks until 2007 and was ranked at the 37th in 2004. The total wealth held by foreign clients in the Switzerland fell by four percent to 1.42 trillion francs at the end of 2015.
The Pakistanis, who have kept their money in Swiss banks include politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen. According to foreign media reports, former president Pervez Musharraf and former chief of army staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani have also stashed millions of dollars in Swiss banks. According the Swiss envoy to Pakistan, the process of bringing back the money from Switzerland should start from courts. If the government proves in court that the money deposited in the Swiss banks was illegal, his government will return it. As a matter of fact, corrupt politicians, businessmen and bureaucrats in many countries find it easy to put their money in the foreign banks to avoid legal proceedings in their respective countries. The base of the Swiss economy is apparently illegal money but ironically no one wants to talk about it. Though the trend has been discouraged, but still trillions of dollars foreign money is stashed in the Swiss banks.
According to unconfirmed reports, the total wealth of Pakistanis is not 1.5 billion francs as the Swiss National Bank has declared in its report, but around $300 billion. However, no official record is available and this claim cannot be proved through independent sources. Though there is a long list of countries, including West Indies, Germany, Bahamas, France, Luxembourg, Hong Kong and Panama, which claim the presence of their wealth in the Swiss banks, but the international community has failed to act on time and discourage this trend.