Credit Suisse has been ordered by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court to pay a fine of two million Swiss francs – nearly two million euros – for laundering money from a Bulgarian criminal organisation, according to the Swiss press.
Credit Suisse has been convicted in a Swiss court case for internal failings related to its dealings with the head of a Bulgarian drug trafficking network. The facts of the case took place between 2007 and 2008.
According to the court in charge of this judgment, Credit Suisse allowed the Bulgarian criminal organisation to withdraw part of the funds it had deposited. The judgment also refers to the confiscation of around 12 million francs (11.8 million euros) in accounts related to the criminal organisation.
The court also criticises Credit Suisse’s monitoring of the implementation of AMLA (anti-money laundering) rules, as well as its legal service and compliance department. The court also ordered the bank to pay a compensatory credit of 19 million francs (18.7 million euros) for the money that was not frozen due to its management errors and which the Bulgarian criminal network managed to evade.
After learning of the ruling, Credit Suisse has stressed that these are events that took place “more than 14 years ago” and has announced that it will appeal the judgement. In addition, the bank has maintained that it regularly updates and strengthens its anti-money laundering standards in line with evolving regulatory standards.
