Switzerland has commenced a money-laundering trial tied to Mozambique’s infamous “tuna bond” scandal. The proceedings, which began this week, focus on a former compliance officer from the now-defunct Credit Suisse. This development comes after prosecutors were unable to establish responsibility among more senior bankers involved in the decade-old controversy. Credit Suisse was a global financial services company that offered a range of banking, wealth management, and investment banking services to clients worldwide. The loans arranged by the lender years ago contributed significantly to pushing the African nation into financial distress.
The former compliance officer stands accused of money laundering for allegedly facilitating the transfer of over 600,000 Swiss francs (approximately US$764,000) of criminal origin to Abu Dhabi in 2016. These actions reportedly hindered efforts to locate or confiscate the illicit funds. Crucially, Credit Suisse did not file a suspicious activity report with Switzerland’s financial crime unit at the time, only doing so in 2019 after details of the scandal emerged during U.S. criminal proceedings, according to the indictment.
According to the indictment, while Credit Suisse’s internal money-laundering investigation received attention from top management, executive board members inadequately instructed and supervised compliance staff. However, prosecutors could not attribute individual responsibility for this oversight. In a related development, Switzerland’s Criminal Court discontinued proceedings against UBS regarding the Mozambique scandal in April. This decision, which can be appealed, stated that Credit Suisse ceased to exist as a criminal-law entity following its 2023 emergency takeover by UBS. Separately, the Swiss finance ministry last year fined Lara Warner, Credit Suisse’s former compliance chief, in connection with the case, a decision she is currently challenging.
