The war starts?

[malo]

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No, i think you misread the article.
I got the impression the DOJ was going to investigate the investment banks that brought the gaming companies public.

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I don't think so. The investment bankers have committed no obvious crime. But they probably have lots of information which may be used against their gaming clients.

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I am ignorant about the nuances of international finance, so forgive my dumb questions.

My understanding has been the Swiss view the banker-client relationship as confidential, just as the US views the lawyer-client relationship.

They will, in certain circumstances, violate that relationship to cooperate with authorities with investigations. The activity being investigated has to be a crime under Swiss law.

Now money laundering and terrorism is a crime in Switzerland. But isn't their definition of money laundering narrower than DOJ's? Aren't they smart enough to figure out that all this money flying around is not financing terrorist activities? More likely to tell DOJ to stick their subpoenas where the sun don't shine---in a polite Swiss way, of course?

Also, something occurred to me last night: once again, the companies targeted are publicly traded, not privately owned. FWIW.