Credit Suisse Group AG was convicted of failing to prevent money laundering by a Bulgarian cocaine trafficker, in the first ever criminal conviction of a major Swiss lender in the country’s history.
The verdict, in which a former relationship manager at the bank was also convicted on money laundering charges, was handed down by Switzerland’s top criminal court yesterday.
The woman was given a 20-month suspended prison sentence while Credit Suisse faces a fine of 2 million Swiss francs (US$2.08 million) and was also hit with a claim of SF19 million, equivalent to the amount the bank allowed to be laundered.
Photo: Reuters
The judgement is another blow to the tarnished reputation of Credit Suisse, which said the crimes date to an era when compliance standards were less stringent. It has been struggling with a series of scandals that have sent its shares to near-record lows, and could face a second criminal indictment in an unrelated case later this year.
The bank said in a statement it would appeal the decision, noting that the pretrial investigation dates back more than 14 years.
“Credit Suisse is continuously testing its anti-money laundering framework and has been strengthening it over time, in accordance with evolving regulatory standards,” the bank said.
The former Credit Suisse manager, who can only be named as “E” under Swiss reporting restrictions, accepted deposits of used bank notes that regularly exceeded 500,000 euro (US$529,155) at a time, according to the 515-page indictment.
Cash deposits were common given the parlous state of Bulgaria’s banks at the time, she said in testimony.
Two other Bulgarians were convicted in the case for participation in a criminal organization and aggravated money laundering. One was given a 36-month prison sentence, with 18 months suspended, and the other was handed a 12-month suspended sentence.
The main Bulgarian at the heart of the scandal, who was later handed a 20-year sentence for his drug offenses, organized the importation of tens of tonnes of cocaine into Europe between 2002 and 2012, using boats, planes and drug traffickers willing to swallow cocaine-packed rubber balls.
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