WORLD : Switzerland Called Soft on Crime

BERNE, Switzerland — A parliamentary commission accused Swiss prosecutors today of doing little to stop drug and money-laundering international networks from pumping billions of dollars through Swiss companies.

It said Swiss justice authorities were too soft on organized crime and even failed to probe charges that Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie was using cocaine profits to buy military hardware for Bolivia.

“The threat posed by organized crime has been recognized too late by the federal prosecutor’s office,” the special investigative commission report said. “The fight against international drug traders and money-laundering has been assigned too little importance.”