Credit Suisse Convicted In Cocaine Cash Laundering Case

On Monday, June 27, 2022, Switzerland's Federal Criminal Court convicted Credit Suisse of failing to prevent money laundering by a Bulgarian cocaine trafficking gang in the country's first criminal prosecution of one of its big banks, Paul Carrel reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Credit Suisse was fined $2.1 million in Swiss francs.

In the trial, which included testimony on killings and cash stuffed into suitcases, a former employee was found guilty of money laundering, and it is seen as a test case for prosecutors taking a harsher stance against the country's banks.

The verdict adds to the woes of Switzerland's second-largest bank, which has already suffered billions in damages as a result of risk management and compliance failures. The verdict was praised by federal prosecutor Alice de Chambrier as "good for transparency."

Credit Suisse was fined $2.1 million in Swiss francs. The court also ordered the confiscation of assets worth more than 12 million francs that the drug gang had in Credit Suisse accounts, as well as the bank's surrender of more than 19 million francs – the sum that could not be confiscated owing to internal Credit Suisse flaws.

The former employee, who cannot be identified due to Swiss privacy regulations, received a suspended 20-month prison sentence and a fine for money laundering.

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