The deposed Credit Suisse overseer reportedly rushed from the Wimbledon men's final to another major British sporting event when he was meant to be in quarantine.
On the second Sunday of July, António Horta-Osório watched Novak Djokovic win the men's final of Wimbledon in four sets, then headed for Wembley Stadium to watch Italy and England face off in Europe's football final, the «Financial Times» (behind paywall) reported on Friday.
It isn't unusual for corporate A-listers to attend high-profile sports events with clients, but the visits are noteworthy because Horta-Osório, who was ousted on Monday by his board, was meant to be in quarantine during this time.
They are even more tone-deaf because when Credit Suisse clients backed out on their invitations, Horta-Osório invited family members to both Wimbledon and to Wembley, the paper reported.
At «Superspreader» Event
The football match, which England lost on penalties, was later identified as a «superspreader» event by British health authorities. The outlet quoted a person close to Horta-Osório saying he believed at the time his attendance was in order in a professional capacity, but that he had been told last month this was not the case.
A Credit Suisse board investigation also found Horta-Osório had traveled to Madrid from Zurich before his ten-day Swiss quarantine ended. There, he met with Real Madrid boss Florentino Perez and with Bank of Spain officials.
«Torquemada» Enemies
The revelations illustrate that Horta-Osório, like many wealthy high-flyers, didn't change his travel habits much during the pandemic, which grounded rank and file employees and the general population.
The airing of the investigation's findings also demonstrates that Horta-Osório, apparently nicknamed by some at Credit Suisse as «Torquemada» after the papal inquisitor, made some enemies during his nine months in Zurich.
Credit Suisse Jet's Holiday Stop
The investigation also revealed that Helman Sitohang was on the corporate jet that stopped on its way back to Zurich from Singapore at a Southeast Asian island for Horta-Osório to disembark for a holiday.
Credit Suisse's top man in Asia, Sitohang was headed for Switzerland and Horta-Osório suggested the two share the corporate jet back, the outlet reported. The optics of requesting the Swiss bank's corporate jet to stop in the Maledives proved disastrous for Horta-Osório.
A person close to the former chairman, whose copious use of private air travel was also a factor in his exit, told the «FT» that Horta-Osório and Sitohang had used the time on board for their weekly one-on-one meeting.
