Swiss Watchdog Asks Credit Suisse About Accounts Of Dictators

Swiss banking supervisor FINMA is in contact with Credit Suisse over media reports by a network of investigative journalists detailing client data leaks, the watchdog said late on Monday, Michael Shields reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Swiss courts ordered Credit Suisse to remit $500 million of the Marcos loot to the post-Marcos government. Richard and Pat Nixon (center) at the Manila International Airport with Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos and their children Irene, Bongbong, and Imee.

"We are aware of the articles," a spokesperson said by email in response to an inquiry, citing its practice not to comment on individual media reports. "Compliance with money laundering regulations has been a focus of our supervisory activities for years now," the spokesperson added.

Credit Suisse had been involved in a raft of scandals, led by the big blackeye of keeping secret accounts of the Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda, and Swiss courts ordered it to remit $500 million of their loot to the post-Marcos government.

The scandals involving Greensill, Archegos, and Mozambique bonds have dogged the bank over the past year, The Guardian also reported.

Over the past three decades, Credit Suisse has faced at least a dozen penalties and sanctions for offenses involving tax evasion, money laundering, the deliberate violation of US sanctions and frauds carried out against its own customers that span multiple decades and jurisdictions. In total, it has racked up more than $4.2 billion in fines or settlements.

That includes the $2.6 billion the Swiss bank agreed to pay US authorities after pleading guilty to conspiring to aid tax evasion in 2014; the $536 million it was fined by the US five years before for deliberately circumventing US sanctions against countries including Iran and Sudan in 2009, and other payouts to Germany and Italy over tax evasion allegations.

Jeff Neiman, a Florida-based attorney who represents a number of Credit Suisse whistleblowers, believes the sheer number of scandals involving the bank indicates a deeper problem.

“Simply put, Swiss legislators are responsible for enabling financial crimes, and – by virtue of their direct democracy – the Swiss people have the power to do something about it. While I am aware that banking secrecy laws are partly responsible for the Swiss economic success story, it is my strong opinion that such a wealthy country should be able to afford a conscience,” Neiman stressed.

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