Clinton scandal spreading to Switzerland:
Swiss Critics: Rich Bought Pardon
Thursday, February 8, 2001
By Greg Palkot
The ongoing saga of fugitive financier Marc Rich has produced an outcry in Switzerland as some of Rich's critics believe he may have bought off a good chunk of the country to help secure a pardon from President Clinton.
Rich fled to Switzerland 17 years ago to avoid charges on tax evasion in the United States.
From his luxurious home in the town of Meggen, Switzerland, the billionaire financier has donated millions of dollars in the country, for everything from museums to ice hockey teams to the Swiss Red Cross.
According to the mayor of Meggen, Hans Bachman, "It is a good thing when private initiative helps the state to do things."
Now some of Rich's critics are charging that it may have been a good thing for Rich as well. Many of the letters personally addressed to former President Clinton aimed at clearing Rich came from Swiss officials and other prominent figures there. This has raised some eyebrows that Rich's wealth and largesse helped him acquire his controversial pardon.
The Rich case has produced an outcry in some quarters, even in a country with a reputation as a haven for tax cheats. "The return on his investment," according to a critic of Rich and local Swiss parliament member Josef Lang, "is very, very good." ....
foxnews.com
...Swiss authorities are now threatening to investigate his business practices in Switzerland. Officials want Rich and his commodity trading company, the Marc Rich Group, to comply with a new anti-money laundering law. Some of Rich's associates claim the law would force them to reveal publicly too much of transactions and are asking for an exemption. The Swiss finance department is evaluating the request... |
