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Any violation of professional secrecy in the banking industry - whether intentional or not - is punishable by criminal law. Consequently, a Swiss banker who divulges information about a client without his or her consent can incur up to six months in prison and a fine of up to 50,000 Swiss francs, since double punishment is applicable.

The Swiss public attorney automatically begins prosecution as soon as an offense is made known. This situation therefore differs from the violation of professional secrecy by a lawyer or doctor, for in such a case it is up to the aggrieved person to take legal action.

In addition to the criminal sentence, the aggrieved client can take civil action and sue the bank for damages.

All of this to say that the banks take every necessary precaution to avoid violating bank secrecy and that this type of affair is practically non-existant in Switzerland.

Other pages of interest:

The limits to Swiss bank secrecy Why Swiss bank secrecy? What does bank secrecy cover?