Julius Baer wades deeper into a Lithuania banking scandal: authorities have frozen several hundred million francs more held at the Swiss private bank.
Last month, the liquidator of troubled Lithuanian Snoras Bank froze 27 million Swiss francs ($27.3 million) of former major shareholder Vladimir Antonow at Julius Baer.
Now, Lithuanian prosecutors have found more to the scandal, Swiss daily «Tages-Anzeiger» (in German) wrote on Monday. The Baltic state's investigators have asked for, and been granted, an asset freeze on another 7 million francs, this time from a second major investor in Snoras, Raimondas Baranauskas, also at Julius Baer.
«We blocked a double-digit million sum as part of a legal assistance,» prosecutors in Zurich said. The funds were deposited at several banks. «Tages-Anzeiger» reported that Bank Syz is also involved. Neither Julius Baer nor Syz commented on the freeze.
Emergency Privatization
Julius Baer is also confronted with a complaint by Snoras' liquidator of 306 million euros ($356.7 million), in a case which has gone on for several years. Antonow and Baranauskas, who together controlled Snoras, stand accused of defrauding 565 million euros.
The bank was privatized in an emergency measure in 2011. Its liquidator accuses Julius Baer of not adequately checking the source and cleanliness of the money.
