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Pakistan to hold Swiss talks on illicit money

Pakistan is to hold talks with Switzerland on a new tax treaty in the hope of retrieving state assets illegally stashed in the Swiss banking system.

Published: 9 May 2014 15:21 CEST
Pakistan to hold Swiss talks on illicit money
Safes in a Swiss bank. Photo: BYPetr0.jpg

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar told parliament negotiations on a revised agreement with Switzerland would be held from August 26th to 28th.

Former president Asif Ali Zardari, who left office last September after five years, was dogged throughout his tenure by corruption allegations involving Swiss banks dating back to the 1990s.

He was accused along with his late wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, of using Swiss banks to launder $12 million of illegal kickbacks.

Switzerland enacted a new law in 2011 to make it easier for countries to recover assets stolen by politicians and hidden in its banks.

In early 2012, Switzerland said it had returned $1.83 billion in illicitly-placed assets to countries involved in the Arab Spring regime changes, but Pakistan's current tax agreement does not allow it to take advantage of the law.

In a written reply to the lower house of parliament, Dar said the government was "seriously working to seek help of the new Swiss laws… to exchange heretofore confidential information about ill-gotten monies stashed up in the clandestine Swiss banking industry".

Dar said the Swiss authorities have expressed willingness to renegotiate the current Pakistan-Swiss agreement.

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READER QUESTION

EXPLAINED: Can I terminate my Swiss telecom contract early?

When you sign up with a telecom provider in Switzerland, your fate is sealed: you must remain with that company until your agreement expires. But what if you want to get out of the contract ahead of schedule?

Published: 24 July 2024 13:21 CEST
EXPLAINED: Can I terminate my Swiss telecom contract early?

On July 24th, 2024, Switzerland’s largest telecom operator, Swisscom, has abandoned its inOne Home package, which includes the telephone, Internet and television, and replaced it with another service, Basic Home.

But the cost of the subscription increased from 50 francs a month to 59.90 francs.  

If you happen to be one of the Swisscom customers affected by this change, but did not cancel your subscription on time (read more about this below), you were ‘migrated’ to the new bundle automatically — and will be charged accordingly.

What happens if you don’t want this more expensive service but have not cancelled your contract in time?

More specifically, can you terminate your telecom subscription — whether with Swisscom or another company — at any time?

The simple answer is yes, but it will cost you money.

That’s because telecom contracts typically have a minimum term — usually 12 or 24 months, but this can vary — as well as the required cancellation notice period.

Each of Switzerland’s three main telecom providers — Swisscom, Sunrise, and Salt — have a two-month termination notice period, at calendar month’s end.

This is the usual notice period for smaller providers like Yallo, Wingo, Coop Mobile, LidlConnect, and M-Budget Mobile as well.

On the other hand, prepaid mobile services don’t require notice periods and can be terminated at any time.

What are the penalties for early termination?

If you cancel your service within the contractual notice period, then you are in the clear.

However, failing to do so can be expensive.

The reason is that telecoms will not just let you off the hook and wish you well while you contract with one of their competitors.

Most likely, you will be faced with one of two scenarios: the company will charge you penalty fees or continue to bill you for the plan until the notice period has expired.

Also, according to Moneyland consumer platform, “a practice that is widespread among Swiss telecom companies is to continue charging you the basic fees for your plan until the contract term expires… Regardless of whether you are terminating ahead of the contract term or just the notice period, telecom companies will require you to pay the full outstanding amount in both cases.”

In terms of actual amounts, they vary from one provider to another.

Swisscom charges the highest penalty fees for breach of contract — up to 4,800 francs.

Other mobile service providers impose penalties of several hundred francs, according to Moneyland.

Exceptions to the rule(s)

You are allowed you to terminate your contract early without penalties when a ‘negative’ change is made to your plan — that is, telecom provider reduces or drops services that were previously included.

Penalties can also be waved if you cancel your subscription early because you move out of Switzerland.

If you relocate within Switzerland, you won’t have to pay penalties, but only if your new home is completely uncovered by your provider’s mobile network.

Additionally, even though Swiss telecoms have a contractual right to raise their prices once a year to match changes in the consumer price index, these increases do entitle customers to terminate their contract early without penalty fees.

And, last but not least, death is also deemed a justifiable excuse to wave penalties.

As Moneyland put it, “all Swiss telecom companies take a customer-friendly approach in the case of death, allowing relatives to terminate the deceased’s contracts immediately without paying penalty fees.”

Can you just refuse to pay the early termination fees?

Unless you move out of the country, or go to live in an extremely rare place in Switzerland where there is no wi-fi coverage (like a cave), or die, then you do have to pay the penalties — unless you come to an amicable agreement of some sort with your telecom provider.

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