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The Gilt of Despots
瑞士銀行欲洗脫偷稅天堂的惡名
For decades, a Swiss bank account was the favored hideaway for assets snaffled by the world's most kleptocratic leaders.
幾十年來，瑞士銀行賬戶一直是受到世界各地貪官們青睞的藏匿資產的地方。
The roll of dishonor includes presidents Marcos of the Philippines,Mobutu of Zaire, Abacha of Nigeria,and "Baby Doc" Duvalier of Haiti.
這份令人蒙羞的名單包括菲律賓總統馬科斯，扎伊爾總統蒙博托，尼日利亞總統阿巴查及海地的小醫生杜瓦利埃。
But these days Switzerland seems eager to clean up its reputation:
但最近，瑞士似乎急于要挽回聲譽:
last month authorities rushed to freeze the assets of ousted Tunisian leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Ivory Coast embattled president Laurent Gbagbo.
上月，當局匆匆凍結了被趕下臺的突尼斯領導人扎因·阿比丁·本·阿里·和處于四面楚歌的象牙海岸總統洛朗·巴博的財產。
And just last week a new Swiss law took effect that will make it easier to reclaim cash plundered by Third World tyrants.
而就在上周，瑞士一項新的法律生效了，收回被第三世界獨裁者們掠奪的錢財因此將變得更加容易。
The recent show of good behavior is surely tied to Switzerland's deep embarrassment two years ago when the OECD put it on a "gray list" of tax havens that failed to meet international transparency standards.
瑞士近期的良好表現無疑與兩年前面臨的尷尬局面有關。當時，經濟合作與發展組織將其列入了避稅天堂的灰名單，因為這些避稅場所不符合國際透明度標準。
With financial services accounting for more than 10 percent of the Swiss economy,and with up to a third of all cross-border private investments being handled by Swiss banks,the country has been keen to reassure the globe that its banks are experts in wealth management rather than tax dodging.
金融服務站瑞士經濟的10%以上，并且三分之一以上的跨境私人投資都是經瑞士銀行辦理的，因此該國一直渴望向全球保證它的銀行是財富管理專家，而非偷稅天堂。
But the new measures are unlikely to silence the skeptics.
但新措施不可能封住懷疑者的口。
Take the new law on returning stolen funds.
就拿關于追回被盜資金的新法律來說，
It will reverse the burden of proof from the victims to the former dictators,who will now have to prove that their frozen assets were earned legally.
它將受害者們的舉證責任轉到前獨裁者們身上。以前受害者往往要花幾年時間向法庭證明獨裁者的罪行，現在卻意味著獨裁者們將必須證明他們被凍結的財產的合法性。
But this law will apply only to failed states.
但是，這項法律之適用于失敗的國家。
So Haiti qualifies-but not Tunisia.
因此，海地符合但突尼斯不符合。
And most experts agree that dirty money is still reaching Swiss banks despite their diligence.
而大多數專家認為盡管瑞士銀行作出許多努力，但還是不斷把有黑錢涌入。
Figures are hard to estimate,but Swiss banks may be holding $150 billion in looted assets,more than any other financial center,according to Global Financial Integrity in Washington.
華盛頓全球金融中心指出，雖然數字很難估計，但是瑞士銀行可能存有15000億美元的掠奪資產，這比其他任何金融中心都要多。
Says Daniel Thelesklaf of the Swiss-based International Centre for Asset Recovery:
總部設在瑞士的國際資產回收中心的丹尼爾·特萊斯克拉夫表示:
"Things have improved, but it is only the tip of the iceberg."
事情已經有所好轉，但這僅僅是冰山一角。
An iceberg that might still sink a country's reputation.
這塊冰山仍能使一個國家聲譽掃地。
