Swiss Court Acquits Credit Suisse of 2022 Money Laundering Conviction on Legal Technicality

A legal technicality led to Credit Suisse being acquitted today by a top Swiss court of its 2022 conviction for money laundering. The bank had previously been found guilty of failing to prevent money laundering by a Bulgarian cocaine trafficking gang in a case that exposed evidence of killings and suitcases full of cash. The Federal Criminal Court’s original verdict had been viewed as a landmark case for prosecuting banks.

In the 2022 trial, Credit Suisse was found to have inadequately prevented the gang from laundering illicit profits through its systems between 2004 and 2008. The court also convicted a former employee of the bank for money laundering. However, this individual died in April 2023, and her heirs, along with the bank, filed an appeal in November of the same year.

The federal court’s appeals chamber announced today that the appeal was resolved in Credit Suisse’s favor due to the death of the former employee. The court explained that examining the alleged violations without infringing on the presumption of innocence in her case was not possible.

“For this reason, the bank was acquitted and the compensation demand imposed on it was cancelled,” the appeals chamber stated.

In the original ruling, Credit Suisse was fined 2 million Swiss francs ($2.3 million). The court had also ordered the confiscation of over 12 million francs in assets linked to the gang’s accounts at Credit Suisse and required the bank to pay 19 million francs in compensation for additional gang-related assets that could not be seized due to deficiencies in the bank’s systems.

Credit Suisse’s collapse in March 2023 following a series of scandals and operational setbacks resulted in its acquisition by UBS. UBS welcomed today’s decision, describing the case as a “legacy matter” related to Credit Suisse’s prior operations.

“Subject to an appeal by the Swiss federal attorney general’s office, the verdict brings this legal issue to a close,” UBS said in a statement.

The Swiss federal attorney general’s office has indicated that it will analyze the ruling before deciding on any further action.

Notably, this decision coincided with a U.S. court overturning a separate ruling by the Treasury Department to sanction the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash.

By fLEXI tEAM