DOI: 10.26118/2782-4586-2026-258-280 ISSN: 2782-4586

The Architecture of Post-secrecy: Transmutation of the Swiss Affiliated Offshore Ecosystem in the Face of Paradoxical Regulation and geopolitical Pressure

Oksana Mihaleva, Yuliya Gumennikova, Andrey Korolev

This study provides a comprehensive system analysis of the architecture and functioning of the Swiss offshore financial system in the context of modern geopolitical challenges and the transformation of the global regulatory landscape. The work reveals a complex, multi-level ecosystem that has evolved from a model of absolute banking secrecy to a hybrid paradigm of "legal complexity", where formal compliance with international transparency standards (AEOI, FATCA) is combined with the preservation of specialized niches for confidential asset structuring. Central attention is paid to the analysis of the degree of affiliation of key elements of the system (banking sector, fiduciary services, attorney-client privilege, crypto ecosystem) with various categories of illegal actors: transnational organized criminal groups (organized crime groups), corrupt authoritarian regimes, sanctioned states and large-scale tax fraudsters. The research methodology combines a structural and functional analysis of the institutional architecture with scenario forecasting of its development, revealing a fundamental regulatory paradox in which stricter controls do not eliminate, but transform the channels of integration of shadow capital into the legal economy.The paper examines in detail the strategic dilemma facing Switzerland.: The choice is between the short-term rent from servicing high-risk capital displaced from other jurisdictions and the long-term threat of reputational collapse and international isolation. The final part contains a detailed forecast considering three time horizons (short, medium and long-term) and analyzing the likely ways of system transformation - from consolidation of the hybrid model and market polarization to full digitalization and transformation into a high–tech hub for complex asset management. Particular importance is attached to the risks associated with the accumulation of "toxic" assets and the need for strategic de-identification as a condition for the system to maintain global relevance and legitimacy in the post-offshore era.

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