The banking giant UBS, which bought its rival Credit Suisse in 2023, was acquitted on appeal in the so-called Bulgarian cocaine trial, the Federal Criminal Court said on Wednesday.
In 2022, Credit Suisse – which was still the country’s second largest bank at the time – was convicted in a money laundering case linked to a Bulgarian cocaine ring, with the bank accused of failings in its control systems. at first instance.
A former employee, who had executed or had transactions executed between July 2007 and December 2008 despite concrete indications as to the criminal origin of the funds, was also found guilty of aggravated money laundering.
The bank and several people convicted in this case had launched an appeal procedure, but in the meantime, this former employee, whom the court did not refer to by name, but by the letter A, died.
In a decision dated November 26, the Court of Appeal therefore considered “that in view of the death of A, it was not possible to examine the violation of art. 102 para. 2 CP accused the bank without violating the presumption of innocence of the deceased,” indicated the Federal Criminal Court in a press release.
“The bank was thus acquitted for this reason and the compensatory debt pronounced against it was canceled,” adds the press release.
In 2022, Credit Suisse was fined 2 million francs to which was added a compensatory debt of 19 million.
During the two years preceding its fall, Credit Suisse had been splashed by numerous scandals, the most costly being the bankruptcy of the British company Greensill in which more than 10 billion dollars had been invested through four funds as well as the implosion of the American fund Archegos, which cost it more than 5 billion dollars.
But this money laundering affair surrounding a Bulgarian cocaine network had also contributed to tarnishing his image. In a panic on the financial markets in March 2023, the bank faced a serious crisis of confidence following massive withdrawals of money from its clients. The Federal Council had to meet urgently to save the bank from bankruptcy by negotiating its takeover by UBS.
