Topics for Discussion and Debate

Excerpt: While Conspiracy Suisse was written with the intent to entertain its readers, I do wish to start a civilized, social discussion about the controversial issues touched upon in the novel. For ease of use, I have compiled these under 8 topics which are listed below. I’ll be very happy if you participate by joining my Facebook Discussion Group.

Historical Conspiracy Questions

The fictional Grand Master of the modern-day Knights Templar asserts in the novel that his organization helped with the founding of Switzerland in the late 13^th century and provides details about how exactly it was orchestrated. Could there be truth to this claim?

He further suggests that the Knights Templar also contributed to the development of Switzerland after its creation by playing a critical role in the wars that were won against the Habsburg in the 14^th century, by enabling the formation of the Swiss mercenary forces in the 15^th century, which would be instrumental in the later history of the country, and by transferring their advanced technology and know-how in several key fields where Switzerland excelled throughout its history. Are these claims plausible? Or formulated differently, could the Swiss peasants actually have defeated the greatest army of their time with pitchforks and become the most feared mercenaries in Europe without help from some battle-hardened military force?

There are continued debates among historians surrounding the events that took place shortly before and after 13 October 1307 when King Philip IV ordered the arrest of French Templars, including their then Grand Master Jacques de Molay. One of the questions often asked is whether the Knights Templar had advance knowledge of what was to happen to them on that day, especially because only 600 of the known 3000 knights in France could be seized. Another question that interests even more people is what happened to the famous Templar treasure. The fictional Grand Master Grimavi explains in the novel that his organization knew about the move that was coming and that they had been preparing for 30 years to set up their own state, in this case Switzerland, and moving their valuable assets. His assertion is that Jacques de Molay and brothers close to him sacrificed themselves to protect those who escaped to the Alps. Is this claim credible?

Objectivity of History Questions

The more general claim is made in the novel that history is not objective but subjective, in particular, that the existence of the Knights Templar was intentionally left unrecorded in Swiss history books so the French would not further persecute them. Is this claim credible?

Banking Conspiracy Questions

The CEO states “You have money in Switzerland, you must be a crook… To make everyone believe exactly that was their strategy in the first place.” Considering that in value way over half of all transactions take place in offshore jurisdictions, might he have a point that the Swiss take more of the blame than others and this contention may have been intentionally promoted?

In the second half of the book, the chairman of the fictional British bank BRB contemplates that when the British Empire started declining after World War II and the pound sterling lost its reserve currency status, the City of London survived by inventing the Eurodollar market and founding the offshore secrecy jurisdictions in British dependencies. Some authors refer to this construct as the Second British Empire. Is there any truth to this claim?

The main argument that is put forward in the book is that there exists a conspiracy to deliberately undermine Swiss banking by foreign sources, in the novel represented by the fictional British bank BRB and its chairman. The aim would be to expand the Second British Empire by capturing the global wealth that is managed by Swiss banks as American ‘offshore’ jurisdictions more and more take away from the sphere of influence of the City. Can there be any truth in this contention?

History of Banking Questions

When the Lawyer Peter Winzeler researches Lombard Banking he comes across an article published by Paul Gallagher with the title How the 14^th century Lombard Banks Created the Dark Ages. Grand Master Grimavi later explains to him that the first global crises in world history, lasting a century, was caused by early Italian banking family dynasties. How factual is this claim?

Grand Master Grimavi goes on to explain that the important Fondo Bank financed both the reformation and the counter-reformation but when its sphere of influence could not be further expanded, the Italian banking dynasties moved north mixing with their earlier relatives of European noble families. Are these statements true?

In the novel, there is also the mention of the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company having harmed large populations in different parts of the world before their founders moved on to set up central banks to continue their dominance. What credibility can be attributed to these statements?

Banks and Banking

In the novel, the CEO of the fictional Swiss bank SWB and his chief legal officer discuss over lunch the new protocols that they had to adopt. The CEO Roberto Donati complains that they had become tax collectors for corrupt foreign governments. Has KYC (Know Your Customer) legislation gone too far, giving excessive power to bankers who may breach the privacy of their customers and decide who can be involved in which business?

Duke Burnthouse and his father discuss the ins and outs of offshore banking. The question is whether secrecy jurisdictions including British Dependencies, US Tax Havens, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, etc. actually contribute to global trade and development or are harmful. Which is more true?

Credit Suisse Story

Grand Master Grimavi claims that his organization put down 80% of the start capital of the largest (fictional) Swiss bank SWB mid-19^th century. Is it probable that the Knights Templar not only survived as an entity in Swiss society but also retained their wealth so that they could finance such a costly endeavor?

In a conversation between the chairman of the fictional British bank BRB Duke Robert William Burnthouse and his father, the prediction was made that expanding into investment banking by Swiss wealth management firms would be a mistake. History showed that in some ways this turned out to be true. Where did Swiss banks, in particular Credit Suisse really go wrong?

Future of Money

The main theme of the book is the struggle between the fictional Swiss bank SWB and the fictional British bank BRB. Grand Master Grimavi justifies this struggle by the fact that future digital currencies – he is thinking of Central Bank Digital Currencies – will cause great problems for the survival of traditional banks which is why they are trying to consolidate more power in their hands. Banking Expert Elena Lehning does not necessarily agree as banks have actually profited from the proliferation of digital currencies so far – but she is thinking of cryptocurrencies, especially stablecoins. Who is right?

Money Ethics

In different parts of the book, there are references to Lombard Banking (which evolved into the fractional reserve banking we currently use) with detailed explanations. The question is whether this system has been (and is) harmful as the Grand Master contends or whether it helps human development and global trade as bankers suggest. Which is more true?

A related question concerns the money creation process where commercial banks produce a large portion of the money supply for private profit. The Grand Master quotes Mayer Amschel Rothschild who said: “Let me issue and control a nation’s money and I care not who writes the laws.” Does the current monetary system put too much power into the hands of financial institutions by not only letting them create money ‘out of thin air’ and charge interest for it but also allowing them to decide who gets it? Or more generally, is our current monetary system just?

The conspiratorially inclined investigative journalist Lilith Bahti makes the claim in the novel that “all global wars are bankers’ wars” and that “most have been initiated to enforce central banks upon countries” so in her opinion first The Bank for International Settlements and then all central banks including the FED must be abolished. Would such an attempt succeed and if so would it solve some of the World’s problems?