Banking Secrecy - A Twist in Tale?
MORE than twenty years ago, Jeffery Archer published a collection of his short stories, called, “A Twist in the Tale”, in which one of the stories was about a strict honest Finance Minister of Nigeria who was out to end corruption in his county. He goes on a mission to Switzerland to unearth bank accounts of his countrymen in Swiss banks. He goes to a Bank and meets the Chairman and asks for the details.
He cajoles, threatens, induces and uses all the tricks in the trade to persuade the Chairman to part with the details, but the Chairman is very firm.
He threatens that his Embassy in Geneva will be closed and he will throw out the Swiss ambassador from his country; he would hold a press conference and announce that the Bank is under investigation – but the Chairman did not respond!
Finally the Minister got up from his seat, took out a pistol and said, “I need those names and by now you must have realised that I will stop at nothing. If you don't give them immediately, I am going to blow your brains out. Do you understand?”
The Chairman was sweating but he gave no names. He was prepared to die rather than part with the names.
“Excellent,” said the Minister as he removed the pistol from the Chairman's head and picked up his briefcase and opened it to the banker to show neatly packed rows of hundred dollar bills which the Chairman quickly estimated to be about 5 million dollars.
“Sir,” said the Minister, “How do I go about opening an account with your bank?”
Do you think these politicians will allow the money to be brought back?