Activists from Minneapolis made their case directly to Swiss banking officials Friday, demanding the country’s central bank divest from a controversial tech company worth over $1 billion in their portfolio.
Representatives from the Minnesota city addressed the Swiss National Bank’s shareholders meeting in Bern, calling for the institution to sell off its substantial holdings in Palantir Technologies due to the firm’s contracts with federal immigration authorities.
The Swiss bank currently owns 6.24 million shares of Palantir, valued at approximately $1.1 billion, as part of its massive $922 billion foreign investment portfolio, recent SEC documents show.
Palantir, the data surveillance company co-created by tech mogul Peter Thiel, secured a government contract in recent months to build monitoring systems for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The company’s government work has faced increased criticism after two fatal incidents in Minneapolis this January where immigration officers shot and killed American citizens during separate encounters.
Minneapolis city council members made the journey to Switzerland specifically to deliver their municipality’s formal request that the bank cut financial ties with Palantir over its ICE partnerships and surveillance operations.
“Palantir is a threat to our democracy, not just in the United States, but around the world,” stated Janette Corcelius, who represented the Minneapolis delegation at the Swiss meeting after receiving an invitation from advocacy organization BreakFree Suisse.
Palantir officials did not provide a response to requests for comment on the matter.
Company CEO Alex Karp has previously defended the firm’s monitoring technology earlier this year, arguing the systems include protective measures to prevent government abuse of power.
In correspondence with investors, Karp wrote that Palantir’s systems guarantee the “state and its agents can see only what ought to be seen.”
Swiss National Bank representatives refused to discuss specific investments, noting they conduct routine evaluations of all portfolio holdings.
The central bank has accumulated extensive international stock holdings as part of managing currency reserves, purchasing shares based on global market weightings rather than selecting individual corporations.
According to bank policies, the institution avoids investing in companies that severely violate Swiss principles, commit serious human rights violations, or cause systematic environmental harm.
Several major investment firms, including Nordic financial company Storebrand Asset Management, have already divested their Palantir positions over ethical concerns regarding the company’s operations.
“Palantir clearly breaches the SNB’s guidelines,” argued Guillaume Durin from BreakFree Suisse. “The SNB investment gives a halo of respectability to companies like Palantir.”
