Swiss to publish first list of dormant assets in December

Having started making public the names of Indians and other foreigners with bank accounts that are under scanner, Switzerland will now publish in December a list of accounts that have remained unclaimed for 60 years.

This would be the first time that such a list would be made public by Switzerland, where banks have long been known for keeping top-secret all details of the account holders but the veil of secrecy has begun to come off in recent years.

The list would be published by the Swiss Banking Ombudsman after compiling information from all Switzerland- based banks about the long-dormant accounts in the name of foreigners including those from India, while giving their lawful beneficiaries an opportunity to submit a claim.

These would be accounts that have remained unclaimed since 1955 and the banks have failed to re-establish contact with the respective clients. However, these may not be necessarily the accounts with illicit wealth. The accounts belonging to some erstwhile kings, members of ruling families of the former princely states and other wealthy individuals from India, who could have opened Swiss bank accounts but did not transfer the ownership to their children or other persons.

The new banking law, has mandated that “assets over 500 Swiss franc that have been dormant for 50 years.