Lombard Odier is in the crosshairs of Switzerland's prosecutor. The Swiss private bank is being scrutinized over a major corruption case on Uzbekistan involving the daughter of the former president.
The Geneva-based bank originally raised alarm over suspected money-laundering back in 2012 – now Lombard Odier finds itself on the receiving end of scrutiny.
Switzerland's prosecutor said it has opened a criminal investigation into Lombard Odier, which it suspects didn't do enough to prevent graft, as well as into a former employee and unknown persons.
The news was first reported by Swiss magazine «Bilanz» (in German).
Millions Frozen
The bank has been drawn into a long-running probe in Switzerland, Sweden, France, the Netherlands and the U.S. which includes Gulnara Karimova (pictured above), the daughter of Uzbekistan's former authoritarian president, and irregularities in the Uzbek telecommunications market.
«We suspect a lack of internal controls at the bank by which potential criminal acts that are still being investigated couldn't be prevented,» Switzerland's prosecutor said in a statement.
Series of Graft Scandals
In a statement, Lombard Odier underscored it had lodged the original money-laundering report with Swiss authorities. «The investigation is still ongoing and the bank is cooperating fully with the relevant authorities,» a spokeswoman for Lombard Odier said.
Switzerland froze $800 million following the notification by Lombard Odier.
Prosecutors also opened a criminal probe into four Uzbeks; two Uzbek citizens had already been arrested in 2012 after they claimed to be executives from Coca-Cola and demanded access to the Swiss bank's accounts.
Gulnara's Circle
The account was opened in 2009 by Bekzod Akhmedow in the name of a Gibraltar-based offshore entity. Three years later, Interpol issued an international arrest warrant for Akhmedow.
The Uzbek was part of Gulnara Karimova's inner circle, it emerged – as were the four Uzbeks who were arrested.
The money held by Lombard Odier are from Uzbekistan, where they were reportedly misappropriated from a telecoms firm named MTS. The company was run by none other than Akhmedow.
The matter is potentially explosive for Lombard Odier: its managing partner; Patrick Odier, headed Switzerland's banking lobby until last September and urged Swiss banks to clean up.
«Googosha» under House Arrest
Prosecutors have alleged that Karimova, a former Uzbek ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva as well as aspiring pop star and model known under the stage name «Googosha» (see duet with Gerard Depardieu below), received bribes in exchange for access to Uzbekistan's telecoms market.
Karimova, who reportedly bought a $18 million manse in Geneva, hasn't been publicly spotted after returning to Tashkent four years ago. She is thought to be under house arrest. Her son denied rumors that she has died to «BBC» two months ago, while urging the Uzbek government to disclose her whereabouts.
Fiesty Prosecutor
Switzerland's current prosecutor, Michael Lauber, is making much more active use of an article in Swiss law which permits the prosecution of firms for not doing more to prevent crimes like graft and money-laundering.
This is in response to a series of high-profile corruption probes that have swept through Swiss banking, such as Brazil's Petrobras and Odebrecht affairs or Malaysia's 1MDB scandal.
