On November 15 1995, an elegantly dressed Mexican woman in her early 40s entered the headquarters of one of Geneva's most venerable private banks. Pictet & Cie had been dealing discreetly with wealthy clients since it was founded in 1805 and her husband was one of them. Two years earlier, on their honeymoon, she had gone with him to deposit some papers in the bank's vaults. Now, he wanted the papers back.

This time, accompanied by her younger brother, she was told there was a hitch: an electrical fault was barring access to the vaults. But there was no such fault - the bank, acting on prior instructions, alerted the police and the pair were arrested at the railway station that day as they tried to leave the city.