Credit Suisse on Venezuela
The company Credit Suisse is a global investment bank and financial services firm that was founded in Switzerland. In the news recently, there have been complaints from people in Venezuela about the bank. These include Accounts tied to corrupt Venezuelan officials, Money launderers and Tax evasion charges. Read on to learn more about Credit Suisse. And stay tuned for more stories! We'll update this article regularly with new stories. For now, here's a quick review of the company.
Venezuelans complain about credit suisse
The scandals surrounding the corrupt practices of the Credit Suisse in Venezuela are not new. The Swiss bank is implicated in the country's economic meltdown after a former employee, Francisco "Pancho" Illarramendi, led a team developing currency trading mechanisms in the country. Ultimately, he quit the bank to set up his own hedge fund and was convicted of massive fraud in the permuta market.
A whistleblower released banking data for several countries, including human traffickers in the Philippines and a Hong Kong stock exchange boss jailed for bribery. Other clients of Credit Suisse include executives of the state oil company of Venezuela and corrupt politicians from Egypt to Ukraine. The bank declined to comment on individual clients, citing strict banking secrecy laws in Switzerland. Yet, the disclosure of such accounts should serve as a wake-up call to the bank.
In a statement, the Swiss financial giant cited deficiencies in its US operations and said it will improve its due diligence procedures. This is in addition to its efforts to limit its exposure to Venezuela. However, this is only one bank's decision, as many have been hit with high fines in recent years for failing to meet AML requirements and violating sanctions. The Swiss regulator Finma ordered the bank to improve its procedures in dealing with clients in Venezuela, and the Swiss company is attempting to do so.
As the Coronavirus swept through Peru, many Venezuelan migrants were displaced from their jobs and were forced to work in Peru. In order to survive, many learned how to make natural skin care products and sold them at a crafts market. Unfortunately, the attention paid to the Venezuelan immigrants has eclipsed their efforts, fueling xenophobia in the country. Janny Contreras is one such immigrant.
Accounts linked to corrupt Venezuelan officials
US prosecutors have accused two US-based businessmen of bribing corrupt officials in Venezuela. The men, Roberto Rincon Fernandez and Abraham Shiera Bastidas, have bank accounts at Credit Suisse and one was the former vice minister of energy for Venezuela. The charges allege that the men received millions of dollars in bribes but Credit Suisse continued doing business with the men despite flagging suspicious activity.
The data came from a global investigation conducted by the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, which involved more than 40 news outlets from around the world. However, due to the risk of prosecution, no Swiss media outlets participated. The data was leaked by an anonymous whistleblower and revealed accounts held by Venezuelan officials, human traffickers, and corrupt politicians from Ukraine to Egypt.
The data leaked from the bank reveals US$273 million that are believed to be stolen from Venezuelan government officials. The country is on the brink of financial collapse following the widespread looting of state coffers. The country's score on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index has dropped significantly over the past decade, with Venezuela achieving one of the lowest scores ever in the 2021 edition of the global corruption index.
Swiss financial regulator Finma has asked UBS and Credit Suisse to explain their operations in Latin America. It has also asked the banks to discuss how to strengthen their controls in the region and work with third-party money-managers in the future. The findings will probably spark a new debate about banking reform in Switzerland. This is one area where the Swiss are likely to be in the forefront of any future reforms.
The Swiss bank has been accused of storing the funds of world leaders and corrupt officials. The firm's clients are notorious for keeping their money hidden from public view. But the investigation into these accounts is not limited to corrupt officials; the bank has also sheltered billionaires and human rights violators in the past. This investigation is a great deal of progress, but there are still many questions. Credit Suisse's client roster is one of the most closely guarded secrets in the world. The publication of these records will give the world an opportunity to understand the clients behind these wealth.
Money launderers linked to Credit Suisse
A Swiss bank has been charged with failing to prevent money laundering from its clients and employees. The case stems from more than a decade ago, when the bank failed to properly police its money-laundering operations. Although the company's former relationship manager resigned, prosecutors say he helped hide the illegal origins of money by handling 146 million Swiss francs in cash and transactions. Earlier this year, the bank voluntarily terminated two employees, including one former relationship manager.
According to the latest report published by OCCRP, the bank failed to police its own practices. It reportedly held funds linked to corruption and crime, despite strict banking regulations. This scandal was first revealed when journalists and whistleblowers started releasing data about the bank's alleged involvement. The Swiss bank has strongly denied the allegations. However, the leak is a warning sign of the widespread failures of due diligence.
The leak revealed the names of five alleged money launderers with connections to Credit Suisse. Two of these individuals are US-based businessmen with connections to Venezuela's government. Abraham Shiera Bastidas and Roberto Rincon Fernandez allegedly bribed senior officials of the oil giant PDVSA. Both men were arrested by US authorities in 2015, but have fought extradition. The leaked data shows that all five men had accounts at the Swiss bank.
According to the report, the Office of Attorney General of Switzerland is investigating the bank's involvement with money laundering. The Swiss bank CS -2.18% in Zurich has failed to comply with its own money laundering rules and policies. According to the Swiss prosecutor, the bank's internal control systems failed to identify the criminal organization behind the transactions and allowed a Bulgarian criminal gang to launder money through the bank. In addition, the Swiss bank also failed to detect a Bulgarian wrestler to join its drug operations.
In the recent past, Credit Suisse has been hit by major scandals. It has lost its chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio after twice breaking COVID-19 regulations. It also became embroiled in the collapse of US hedge fund Archegos Capital and supply chain finance firm Greensill Capital. Credit Suisse was also accused of assisting a Bulgarian drug cartel launder money. And this is just the latest scandal linked to the bank.
Tax evasion charges against Credit Suisse
After the guilty plea deal that the US Department of Justice reached with Credit Suisse in 2014, the bank continues to assist US clients in avoiding taxes. The bank is charged with tax evasion for facilitating the use of sham entities for concealing assets. Former employees of the bank have now written to the Internal Revenue Service's Whistleblower Office, detailing their experiences. Their allegations of assisting US tax cheats are a significant step in the government's war against offshore tax evasion.
The Justice Department's lack of enforcement has led to criticisms of the bank's shoddy banking practices and its unwillingness to bring indicted executives to trial. Despite these criticisms, the Justice Department has managed to extract information on 238 names of US citizens who had secret accounts at the Swiss bank. That's one percent of the estimated total. According to Sen. Carl Levin, the chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, he was disappointed that the bank refused to hand over the names of all US citizens with secret accounts in Switzerland. However, the Justice Department is satisfied with the amount of information it obtained from Credit Suisse's customers.
The Swiss government did not accept the plea deal. The United States has alleged that Swiss banks knowingly facilitated tax evasion by paying out millions of dollars to wealthy Americans. In exchange, the U.S. government offered to settle the case against some Swiss banks, if they agreed to pay a fine and hand over data to the Internal Revenue Service. Credit Suisse refused and filed a criminal information against eight former employees.
Despite this, the Swiss bank has agreed to disclose its cross-border activities and cooperate with requests by U.S. regulators for account information. This includes shutting down the accounts of Americans who failed to report their assets. As a result, the bank has also agreed to shut down the accounts of these Americans. As a result, the Swiss bank has been under fire for years. There are now at least eight former bankers in jail, with two of them pledging guilty. Another two have pleaded guilty to criminal charges.
