Credit Suisse is facing pressure from a data leak of tens of thousands of client accounts – dating as far back as the 1940s – with revelations of alleged ties to criminals including human rights abusers, sanctioned individuals and more.
Information on more than 18,000 accounts totaling over $100 billion in assets was leaked to Germany’s «Sueddeutsche Zeitung» which then shared it with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and 46 other news organizations including the «New York Times», the «Guardian» and «Le Monde».
The consortium of media outlets alleged that the leak revealed client relationships with unsavory characters from all corners of the world.
«Suisse Secrets»
Dubbed the «Suisse secrets», the investigation of the leak involving a total of 30,000 clients and reporting covered a handful of suspect characters worldwide.
They include Ronald Li Fook-shiu, former Hong Kong stock exchange chairman convicted of bribery; Stefan Sederholm; a Swedish computer technician who was convicted of human trafficking in the Philippines; as well as Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, sons of former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak.
«I’ve too often seen criminals and corrupt politicians who can afford to keep on doing business as usual, no matter what the circumstances, because they have the certainty that their ill-gotten gains will be kept safe,» Paul Radu, co-founder of the OCCRP, said in a statement.
«Our investigation exposes how these people can bypass regulation despite their crimes, to the detriment of democracies and people all over the world.»
Old Accounts
In response, Credit Suisse denied any wrongdoing in a statement, adding that the media outlets’ reporting is based on «partial, inaccurate, or selective information taken out of context, resulting in tendentious interpretations of the bank's business conduct».
According to the Swiss bank, much of the reported information is historical in nature, dating as far back as the 1940s, with 90 percent of the accounts already closed or in the process of closure prior to receiving press inquiries and 60 percent closed before 2015.
«Of the remaining active accounts, we are comfortable that appropriate due diligence, reviews and other control-related steps were taken in line with our current framework,» Credit Suisse said. «We will continue to analyze the matters and take additional steps if necessary.»
«Concerted Effort to Discredit»
Interestingly, Credit Suisse’s statement does not only make claims about the relevance of the information but also the possible intentions for the nature of its reporting.
«These media allegations appear to be a concerted effort to discredit not only the bank but the Swiss financial marketplace as a whole, which has undergone significant changes over the last several years,» the bank added.
