by Dan Mihai
A leak inside the Swiss banking company Credit Suisse revealed the details of the accounts of more than 30,000 customers worldwide. These accounts hold a total of over 100 billion Swiss francs (€ 80 billion), some of which comes from illicit sources such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering and corruption. Thus, Credit Suisse is embroiled in a new controversy over its unethical discretionary policies and unclear customer selection and money-making procedures.
The data leak inside the banking company took place with the help of a whistleblower, namely a person from Credit Suisse who published private data inside it, thus violating the company’s policies. In addition to the bank details of the 30,000 customers, the leak also shows that the Swiss bank has repeatedly failed to comply with international regulations for detecting and avoiding customers involved in illegal activities and their funds. Clients whose accounts have been declassified in the leak include dictators, human traffickers, corrupt politicians, criminals investigated for murder, drug traffickers, and fraudsters. The leak took place on Sunday, February 20, and so far Credit Suisse has denied any allegations of unethical business practices.
Credit Suisses’ customers
The more than 18,000 data leaked accounts come from more than 120 jurisdictions, the majority of which come from developing countries and economies. Although some accounts have been closed in the meantime, in some cases a few years after the criminal was actually prosecuted, there remains evidence of uncertain KYC policies, unethical discretionary policies and questionable ways in which the Swiss bank conducted its business. The countries from which most of the leaked accounts originate from are Egypt, Venezuela, Ukraine and Thailand, followed by Middle Eastern countries such as Kazakhstan and Iran, and African countries such as Kenya and Liberia.
Many of the countries found in this context are known for totalitarian or unstable political regimes that in some cases favour corruption and kleptocracy. Thus, among the clients targeted in the Swiss bank’s data leak are dictators, close to them or corrupt politicians and leaders who wanted to hide their accumulated wealth over the years away from the eyes of the law and the public. Among these leaders and those close to them with private accounts at Credit Suisse are the King of Jordan, Abdullah II, the former dictator of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos with his wife, Imelda, the Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha with his sons, the former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak with his sons.
Among the beneficiaries of the Swiss bank are former politicians or businessmen investigated for fraud and corruption. Among them is Pavlo Lazarenko, the former prime minister of Ukraine suspected of stealing more than € 200 million from government funds, Eduard Seidel, director of Siemens investigated for € 54 million from illegal operations, Ivan Guta with his family, investigated for the bankruptcy of the largest grain company in Ukraine and the theft of over € 100 million from it, as well as various influential people from the military and security services in Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Iraq, Algeria and Venezuela.
In addition to those accused of fraud and corruption, others among those uncovered in Sunday’s data leak are criminals, human and drug traffickers, and other characters with dubious connections. Among them are Stefan Sederholm, accused in Thailand of human trafficking, Rodoljub Radulovic, accused of several financial schemes and international cocaine trafficking, but also Hisham Talaat Moustafa, a close relative of the Egyptian dictator Mubarak who was accused of hiring a paid assassination attempt to kill his wife.
About the bank and the historical context
Credit Suisse is one of the largest banking institutions in the world, being the second largest bank in Switzerland. It manages over € 1.5 trillion in assets, has over 50,000 employees and over 1.5 million local and international customers. Swiss banks are known for their discretionary policy towards customers after in 1934 the disclosure of their data to foreign authorities was criminalised. Over the decades, this has attracted wealthy clients who are eager to hide their wealth from their home authorities. Because of these policies of utmost discretion, Credit Suisse has faced several controversies and accusations in recent decades regarding money laundering, tax fraud and the hindrance and opposition of various states’ financial crime investigations. The bank’s official response to the data leak is that it is in a continuous process of improving its policies and combating financial crime, and will take all appropriate steps towards compliance.
Source: the Guardian
