Word: swiss
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Although there are several good reasons for opening a Swiss bank account-safety and prestige among them-one of the most important is secrecy. Any bank employee who reveals, even inadvertently, information about a client's account can be fined up to $22,000 or sent to jail for as long as six months. Switzerland's reputation for discretion is one reason it has attracted an estimated $300 billion from depositors all over the world, including Mafia dons and military dictators. This past weekend, however, residents voted on a referendum that would have taken some of the veils...
That is a reputation that has plagued Switzerland for years. Argentina's Juan Perón, the Shah of Iran and Nicaragua's Anastasio Somoza had large Swiss accounts in the past. Among current world leaders, Zaïre's Mobutu Sese Seko is believed to have substantial holdings on deposit. Swiss banks have been a haven for foreign capital since the French Revolution. The current rules on confidentiality were set up in 1934 to protect Jews fleeing Nazi Germany...
...also had other rich and powerful friends. For a while she dated the King of Morocco, who showered her with jewelry. During one separation from Bloomingdale in 1975, she moved into the Bel Air mansion of Bernie Cornfeld, after the sybaritic international financier had been released from a Swiss prison. Cornfeld, who then played host to a dozen other women, says that he kept Morgan in a special bedroom, linked to his by a secret passageway...
...International Olympic Committee does not meet in Athens, but in Lausanne, Switzerland. Why not let the Olympics become a Swiss event...
GRANTED, DE COUBERTIN'S vision saw the Games bestowing the glow of friendly competition among athletes upon a different country every four years. And, after a few decades, viewers around the globe will no doubt become more familiar with the intricacies of Swiss banking than is necessary. But given the current mess and assuming a desire to save the Games, setting up shop near the Alps may prove to be a decent compromise solution. Besides, in the end, the location of the Olympics is irrelevant. If we'd just leave them alone, the athletes could create enough of a spectacle...