The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPC) has indicted the private bank Lombard Odier and a former manager for aggravated money laundering. They are suspected of having helped conceal the proceeds of the actions of the daughter of the former Uzbek president.
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The bank and its former employee are suspected of having played a decisive role in allowing the concealment of the proceeds of the actions of the “Office” created by Gulnara Karimova, daughter of the former president of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which the MPC qualifies as a criminal organization, the ministry specified on Friday.
The present indictment of the MPC, filed with the Federal Criminal Court (TPF), is linked to that which led the public prosecutor to refer, on September 28, 2023, Gulnara Karimova and a second defendant before the same TPF.
The latter are accused of having participated in the “Office” and of having laundered in Switzerland, between 2005 and 2012, assets generated by crimes committed by this organization, of which Gulnara Karimova was, according to the act of accusation of the MPC, the ultimate leader.
According to the public prosecutor’s investigation, part of the funds laundered in Switzerland were paid to the Lombard Odier & Cie SA bank in Geneva. The role deemed “determining” of the bank and one of its former managers led to the criminal proceedings carried out since December 2016 against them for suspicion of aggravated money laundering.
Proposed cooperation
The former manager concerned was active between 2008 and 2012 with the Private Client unit of Lombard Odier, specifies the MPC. Due in particular to his role as a member of the investment committee of a Gulnara Karimova fund, he would have known the daughter of the former Uzbek president and several members of the “Office” even before his engagement at the bank.
After joining the establishment in 2008, the man allegedly maintained active contact with members of the “Office” and offered cooperation to some of them. In his capacity as manager, he is accused of having opened or caused to be opened, between August 2008 and August 2012, with Lombard Odier, nine banking relationships intended to receive funds resulting from crimes committed by the organization.
False beneficial owners
The former manager would subsequently have managed these banking relationships, for which false beneficial owners would have been designated. An aspect that he would not have reported within the bank even though he would have known that the real and sole beneficial owner of the funds was Gulnara Karimova.
In this context, the accused would also have falsely described a company of the “Office” as an operational company when he would have known that the latter had no activity or employees and that it had been set up by the organization criminal offense with the sole aim of giving legal cover to transfers of funds originating from crimes.
The defendant is also accused of not having clarified or of having clarified falsely and late the economic background of credits and debits occurring on the nine banking relationships in question. He also allegedly failed to inform the compliance monitoring body, obstructing the immediate obligation to inform the Money Laundering Reporting Office (MROS).
In addition, the ex-manager would have authorized a member of the “Office”, who did not benefit from a right of access, in November 2011 and June 2012, to access a safe linked to a banking relationship of the criminal organization from Lombard Odier and to take documents intended to serve as legal cover to justify transfers of funds, or to transfer all of the documents to another safe.
Corruption in telecommunications
According to the OAG’s indictment, the defendant knew that the funds transferred to the relevant banking relationships originated from criminal activities of the “Office”, including corrupt acts committed in the Uzbek telecommunications sector.
In this context, he allegedly committed acts likely to hinder the identification of the origin, the discovery and confiscation of assets, which he knew came from crimes.
Standards and directives not respected
As part of the opening and management of the banking relationships concerned, the MPC criticizes Lombard Odier for not having respected the standards of the time in the fight against money laundering, but also its own internal directives.
In particular, the investigation would have demonstrated shortcomings in the identification and renewal of the identification of the beneficial owner of the relationships in question, of the obligation for additional clarifications of relationships presenting an increased risk, of the acceptance and the annual review of business relationships with politically exposed persons (PEPs), the obligation to identify and clarify transactions presenting increased risk and the internal organization.
“Multiple failures”
From 2008 to 2012 at least, Lombard Odier’s anti-money laundering program allegedly presented “multiple failures” preventing both the avoidance and detection of “repeated and lasting” money laundering activities committed by the manager.
In this context, the bank did not take “all reasonable and necessary organizational measures” to prevent the commission of acts of aggravated money laundering within it.
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