Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 (Designation of Participating Countries) (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Order 2009

The Minister will know that we have particular problems with Swiss banks and their secrecy laws. Those Swiss banks have in the past failed to co-operate with requests for information made to them. I would like to know whether the protocol which has now been entered into, and which is envisaged in this order, means that the Swiss banks are likely to be more co-operative. I recall that in the BAE investigation it was the desire of the Serious Fraud Office to obtain details of accounts from Swiss banks that really caused the whole thing to blow up. One hopes that this agreement will make the procedures a great deal simpler than has been the case in the past. As for the Norway and Iceland agreement, all we can say is that the Iceland banks have enough problems on their plates and it may not be too difficult to obtain information from them. However, I respectfully suggest to the Minister that a major hindrance to international crime is bank secrecy, whether it is in the European countries which are the subject matter of these orders or in offshore banks where money can be laundered and can disappear for ever. The assistance of the noble Lord in these areas would be very acceptable. I am grateful to him for proposing the order, to which we have no objection.