A global media investigation called Suisse Secrets revealed that Switzerland’s second-largest bank failed to block illicit funds passing through accounts held by dictators, criminals and corrupt politicians. for autocrats, drug traffickers, war crimes suspects and human traffickers, according to a global consortium of media outlets reported this Sunday (20/02).
The Suisse Secrets investigation, based on a large volume of data leaked by an informant to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), reveals the holders of 100 billion Swiss francs (R$ 558 billion) held in the Swiss bank.
SZ, German public broadcasters NDR and WDR, the British Guardian newspaper and The New York Times are some of the more than 40 media organizations involved in the investigation, which is part of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
What did the Suisse Secrets investigation uncover?
Media outlets analyzed leaked data from 30,000 Credit Suisse customers around the world.
The accounts had been opened sometime from the 1940s to the last decade. More than two-thirds of them had been opened after 2000, and many still exist today.
Among the uncovered account holders are a convicted human trafficker in the Philippines, a Hong Kong stockbroker arrested for bribery and an Egyptian billionaire who ordered the murder of his girlfriend, a Lebanese pop star.
Other clients include numerous heads of state and government, ministers and intelligence agents, as well as oligarchs and businessmen of dubious reputation, according to the investigation.
SZ reported that a former Siemens manager convicted of bribery in 2008 was linked to six accounts. In 2006, one of the former Siemens manager’s accounts had assets worth more than 54 million Swiss francs (currently around R$300 million), an amount the newspaper claims cannot be the result of his salary at Siemens. .
The leak also revealed secret accounts held by King Abdullah II of Jordan, former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, Algerian autocrat Abdelaziz Bouteflika and former Armenian Armenian President Armen Sarkissian.
Sarkissian resigned as chairman in January, shortly after SZ contacted him to ask about his Credit Suisse accounts. He said he had closed all accounts before being forced to declare his assets.
Bank failed to check suspicious customers
The leak points to a general failure of due diligence on the part of Credit Suisse in evaluating and rejecting suspicious clients and dealing with illegal funds.
SZ reported that fraudsters could have opened or maintained accounts even “if the bank could have known for a long time that it was dealing with criminals”.
The reporters spoke to several former employees of the bank, who described a “highly toxic corporate culture that encouraged risk-taking to maximize profits — and bonuses,” OCCRP wrote on its website.
Former employees said this led to a culture that applied different rules to two types of customers: the rich and the ultra-rich.
The informant, whose name remains with the media, described Swiss bank secrecy as “immoral”.
“The claim to protect financial privacy is just a cover to cover up the shameful role of Swiss banks as collaborators of tax evaders,” the insider said.
Credit Suisse rejects accusations
Credit Suisse vehemently denied the allegations on Sunday, saying the investigation is “based on incomplete, inaccurate or selective information taken out of context, leading to biased interpretations of the bank’s business conduct.”
The bank also said that 90% of the accounts cited had already been closed.
As for the accounts that remain active, the bank stated that “appropriate due diligence, reviews and other control measures have been taken in accordance with our current rules.”
The bank also said the law prevents it from commenting on “potential customer relationships”.
Switzerland has long been one of the most opaque financial centers in the world. But the country has sought, in recent years, to leave behind its image as a haven for tax evasion, money laundering and embezzlement of public funds.
Swiss banks now exchange information about account holders with several countries, but not with some of the poorest and most corrupt nations.
The investigation found that a large number of customers in the Suisse Secrets data come from Venezuela, Egypt, Ukraine and Tajikistan.
Credit Suisse has been involved in dozens of scandals over the past two decades and has paid more than $10 billion in fines.
This month, he became the first major Swiss bank to face criminal charges that he helped a Bulgarian drug cartel launder money. Credit Suisse denies the allegation.
Last month, the bank lost its president, Antonio Horta-Osorio, after he twice flouted sanitary rules about the pandemic.
bl (AP, dpa)
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