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The forgotten underground world of Swiss bunkers

swissinfo.ch

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Re: The forgotten underground world of Swiss bunkers

#11

Post by dominotw »

eli wrote: post #4
badminton1 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Swiss bank secrecy is in part what allows criminals and dictators around the world to ruin and enslave entire nations for money.

Is that still the case? I thought Swiss secrecy isn't what it used to be. Anyway, some people would argue that strong privacy protections are a good thing even if they help bad guys.

Don't you think they can just wipe the slate clean of decades of money laundering with zero consequences? What about millions of lives that were lost/affected by this?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_black_money#Black_money...

Re: The forgotten underground world of Swiss bunkers

#13

Post by Sami_Lehtinen »

johansch wrote: post #7

This one in Stockholm, Sweden is also sized for 20k people. It also predated the Swiss one by about 20 years. (!) https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katarinabergets_skyddsrum Google translate link: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=sv&tl=en&js=y&prev... In a typical Swedish utilitarian way it was designed with two uses in mind: a) peace-time: parking cars b) war-time: securing people Here's a sketch: http://hjak.s…

It's totally normal to have peace-time usage for bunkers. Here's one underground bunker being used as swimming hall in Finland. http://mirstran.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/bassein.jpg Actually bunkers are plentiful in Finland because building those is mandatory. Not many countries build bunkers as much as Finland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air-raid_shelter#Finland Also subway tunnels and underground parking halls, many (underground) sport halls are pre-equipped with massive blast doors. http://www.vastavalo.fi/albums/userpics/10913/normal__MG_419...

Re: The forgotten underground world of Swiss bunkers

#15

Post by fdett »

dominotw wrote: post #10
Kenji wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who has worked at a Swiss bank: This might have applied a couple of decades ago. Especially in the last decade, Swiss banks introduced rules to overcome this problem with international customers. Smaller banks started to turn down US customers right away (like the one I worked at). It has become dangerous for bank employees and banks themselves to support criminals like you mention. There is zero tolerance…

What about all the damage that has been done? Indian politicians used it for decades to hide their money https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_black_money#Black_money...

Did you even read the linked paragraph? The story has been debunked and the cited bank is HSBC. Not really what I would call a swiss bank...

Re: The forgotten underground world of Swiss bunkers

#16

Post by md_ »

Kenji wrote: post #6
badminton1 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Swiss bank secrecy is in part what allows criminals and dictators around the world to ruin and enslave entire nations for money.

As someone who has worked at a Swiss bank: This might have applied a couple of decades ago. Especially in the last decade, Swiss banks introduced rules to overcome this problem with international customers. Smaller banks started to turn down US customers right away (like the one I worked at). It has become dangerous for bank employees and banks themselves to support criminals like you mention. There is zero tolerance…

As you say, it's far harder for Americans to get regular consumer bank accounts at big Swiss banks than it used to be.

On the other hand, it's hard not to see at least some banks as (still) having a culture of helping foreign customers evade their governments. E.g. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/30/herve-falcianis...:

"Birkenfeld himself had provided a variety of “concierge” tax-evasion services: he once bought diamonds for an American client, then smuggled them into the U.S. inside a toothpaste tube.

"A 2014 U.S. Senate report describes a Credit Suisse banker travelling to America to meet a client for breakfast at a Mandarin Oriental hotel, and passing along an issue of Sports Illustrated in which account statements were concealed between the pages."

Re: The forgotten underground world of Swiss bunkers

#17

Post by johansch »

Sami_Lehtinen wrote: post #13
johansch wrote: post #7

This one in Stockholm, Sweden is also sized for 20k people. It also predated the Swiss one by about 20 years. (!) https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katarinabergets_skyddsrum Google translate link: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=sv&tl=en&js=y&prev... In a typical Swedish utilitarian way it was designed with two uses in mind: a) peace-time: parking cars b) war-time: securing people Here's a sketch: http://hjak.s…

It's totally normal to have peace-time usage for bunkers. Here's one underground bunker being used as swimming hall in Finland. http://mirstran.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/bassein.jpg Actually bunkers are plentiful in Finland because building those is mandatory. Not many countries build bunkers as much as Finland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air-raid_shelter#Finland Also subway tunnels and underground parking ha…

You guys are even closer to the russians, and have actually fought with them within the last 100 years...

Re: The forgotten underground world of Swiss bunkers

#18

Post by dominotw »

fdett wrote: post #15
dominotw wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about all the damage that has been done? Indian politicians used it for decades to hide their money https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_black_money#Black_money...

Did you even read the linked paragraph? The story has been debunked and the cited bank is HSBC. Not really what I would call a swiss bank...

I did, did you?

denial != debunking

> it can be seen that bank deposits of Indians in Swiss banks have decreased from ` 23,373 crore in year 2006 to ` 9,295 crore in year 2010.

> the share of Indians in the total bank deposits of citizens of all countries in Swiss banks has reduced from 0.29 per cent in 2006 to 0.13 per cent in 2010.

You think they not culpable for the past because money got move around? Or that they are not guilty because the numbers are not astronomical.

Why do you think India is bent on AEOI with the swiss. Just to spite them?

Re: The forgotten underground world of Swiss bunkers

#19

Post by eps »

johansch wrote: post #7

This one in Stockholm, Sweden is also sized for 20k people. It also predated the Swiss one by about 20 years. (!) https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katarinabergets_skyddsrum Google translate link: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=sv&tl=en&js=y&prev... In a typical Swedish utilitarian way it was designed with two uses in mind: a) peace-time: parking cars b) war-time: securing people Here's a sketch: http://hjak.s…

I see your secure Swedish parking/bunker and raise you the Moscow subway system that has multiple stations built as a emergency shelters, with huge doors embedded into walls that can seal the interior and incospicuous regular-sized doors on each side of these, fronting airlock-like bypasses to allow for scouting the outside when needed. There are several types - swinging, sliding and even draw-bridge like - all still presumably in operational state.

[1] http://yablor.ru/blogs/vorota-v-podzemnuyu-citadel/1000940 (in Russian, but images are self-explanatory).

Re: The forgotten underground world of Swiss bunkers

#20

Post by hkjgkjy »

badminton1 wrote: post #3
carsongross wrote: post #2

The swiss are an inspiration. I hope that the swiss spirit is not submerged in the ever-rising tide of internationalism.

Swiss bank secrecy is in part what allows criminals and dictators around the world to ruin and enslave entire nations for money.

And taking over the torch of tax evasion/financial privacy (two sides of the same coin?) is Bitcoin etc.

Who needs a bank in Switzerland when you can just have a 50 character long private key?

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