Credit Suisse accused of laundering drug money

The Swiss criminal court opened proceedings against Credit Suisse on Monday, accusing the bank of not doing enough to stop drug-related money laundering by a Bulgarian criminal organization. Reuters reports that the gang was led by a wrestler who specialized in dirty money management. Of course, finding out that Swiss banks launder money without too much difficulty must have been a shock to the Swiss authorities …

The names of the defendants were not disclosed to protect their privacy, but Swiss prosecutors identified Credit Suisse in the indictment filed in court. The indictment, centered on a former manager of the Swiss bank and two members of the criminal circle, follows a years-long investigation into allegations of wrongdoing that allegedly occurred between 2004 and 2008.

The bank's trial revolves around the accusation of "not having taken all necessary measures to stop the money laundering infringement" by one of its employees. Virtually these would have closed their eyes to where the money came from.

Credit Suisse denied any wrongdoing, stating during Monday's hearing that it "rejects without reservation as groundless all allegations made against it in this legacy matter and is convinced that its former employee is innocent." The bank added that it "will defend itself vigorously in court".

The Swiss Attorney General's office said that after the fall of communism, high-level athletes in Bulgaria "turned to other sources of income and numerous wrestlers and were contacted by mafia clans." Thus, an anonymous fighter hoped to make large amounts of money by trafficking tons of cocaine through "mules" from South America to Europe by air and sea and then laundering the profits.

Proceeds from the sale of drugs entered Swiss bank accounts from at least 2004 to 2007 and were used to buy real estate in Bulgaria and Switzerland in particular, according to court proceedings. Prosecutors said the wrestler's "main crime was carried out in February 2006, when he carried the equivalent of more than four million Swiss francs (about 4 million euros) in small-denomination banknotes hidden in his car from Barcelona to Switzerland ".

The bank's employees and executives then operated by accepting the funds and then injecting them into the system despite there being "strong indications that the funds were of criminal origin."

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The Credit Suisse article accused of laundering money from drugs comes from ScenariEconomici.it .

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This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/credit-suisse-sotto-accusa-per-aver-riciclato-denaro-dalla-droga/ on Tue, 08 Feb 2022 10:15:10 +0000.