Zurich (AFP) – Swiss banking giant UBS, which took over its rival Credit Suisse last year, has been acquitted on appeal in a high-profile money laundering trial, Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court said Wednesday. A pillar of Swiss banking and the second-largest Swiss bank at the time, Credit Suisse in 2022 was slapped with a $2 million fine in a money laundering case linked to a Bulgarian cocaine network.
The court ruled that the bank had failed to take steps to prevent money laundering by the criminal organisation, deeming it guilty of breaching its corporate responsibility in a case dating back to 2007 and 2008. A former employee had been found guilty of aggravated money laundering over transactions she made or ordered, despite clear evidence the funds were of criminal origin. The bank and several defendants convicted in the case had launched an appeal, but the former staff member, who was referred to by the court as A., has since died.
The appeals chamber of the federal court in its verdict said that the woman’s death meant it could not proceed with examining the violation allegedly committed by the bank “without violating the presumption of innocence of the deceased.” “The bank was therefore acquitted on this basis and the compensation claim against it was cancelled,” the statement added, referring to a 19 million Swiss franc claim ($21.5 million) piled on the $2 million fine.
Prior to its collapse, Credit Suisse had been shaken by repeated scandals in recent years, including the bankruptcy of British financial firm Greensill and the implosion of the US fund Archegos, which cost it more than $5 billion. The fund’s collapse further weakened Credit Suisse and pushed it close to bankruptcy in 2023. The money laundering cash and links to a Bulgarian cocaine network helped tarnish its image.
When panic gripped financial markets in March 2023, the Swiss firm suffered a serious crisis of confidence following massive withdrawals by its customers. Swiss authorities then called an emergency meeting to save the bank from bankruptcy and negotiated its takeover by UBS.
© 2024 AFP
