Switzerland Offshore: welcome to shell company paradise

Geneva, Lugano, Zug and Fribourg: these are – in that order– the preferred locations in Switzerland for shell companies. As part of a meticulous investigation, Public Eye has closely scrutinised this special feature of the Swiss economy. A survey conducted by Public Eye reveals that almost 33,000 shell companies are domiciled in the cantons of Geneva, Zug, Fribourg and Ticino alone.
A survey conducted by Public Eye reveals that almost 33,000 companies without substance are domiciled in the cantons of Geneva, Zug, Fribourg and Ticino alone.

Select a canton for more information:

Geneva Zug Ticino Fribourg

The Pandora Papers

The Pandora Papers are 11.9 million leaked documents that the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published beginning on 2nd October 2021. The news organizations of the ICIJ described the document leak as their most expansive exposé of financial secrecy yet, containing documents, images, emails and spreadsheets from 14 offshore firms, in nations including Panama, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. It exposes a shadow financial system that benefits the world’s most rich and powerful. Switzerland must learn the lessons from the Pandora Papers and plug its legal loopholes which facilitate the global merry-go-round of tax evasion and white-collar crime.