Zurich Bank Account Access

Lore & Background

The discovery of the box number, shown by a tiny laser projector implanted in Bourne's hip in the film, turns a simple survival situation into an international manhunt. After Bourne leaves, a bank employee contacts Operation Treadstone. The CIA, specifically the handlers running Treadstone, realize their asset is awake and active.

Reader's Guide

The arc begins when fishermen tending an amnesiac man's wounds find a tiny laser projector implanted in his hip, which gives the number of a safe deposit box in Zurich. Driven by survival instincts and a desperate need to understand who he is, Bourne travels to Switzerland to access these funds. In the deposit box he finds various currencies, passports and IDs under different names, and a handgun; he takes everything but the gun. After his departure a bank employee contacts Treadstone, whose head, Alexander Conklin, alerts police and assigns three agents to kill him. The access triggers a massive security response. This event forces Bourne into a cat-and-mouse game across Europe, turning a simple financial transaction into the inciting incident for a global conspiracy.

Did You Know?

• In the novel, the Zurich account holds 7.5 million Swiss francs, and Bourne wires most of the money to Paris.
• The existence of this account is one of the few concrete links Bourne has to his former identity before he discovers the full scope of Treadstone.