Bank secrecy
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
Related e |
Featured: |
Bank secrecy (or bank privacy) is a legal principle in some jurisdictions under which banks are not allowed to provide to authorities personal and account information about their customers unless certain conditions apply (for example, a criminal complaint has been filed). In some cases, additional privacy is provided to beneficial owners through the use of numbered bank accounts or otherwise. Bank secrecy is prevalent in certain countries such as Switzerland, Lebanon, Singapore and Luxembourg, as well as offshore banks and other tax havens under voluntary or statutory privacy provisions.
In popular culture
The notion of Swiss banks and secret numbered accounts has been widely used in post-war literature and cinema. Whether quite realistically in James Bond novels/movies or more speculatively in The DaVinci Code novel/movie, the instrument is often used by writers for characters to hide assets from the authorities.
See also
- European Union withholding tax
- Private bank
- Safe deposit box
- World Jewish Congress lawsuit against Swiss banks
- Anonymous Internet banking
- Hottinger & Cie