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Billy Rautenbach is seen outdoors the Excessive Courtroom on November 19, 2009 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photograph by Foto24/Gallo Photos/Getty Photos)
Credit score Suisse Group AG managed accounts for shoppers concerned in human rights abuses, corruption and drug trafficking, in accordance with newspaper stories primarily based on leaked knowledge on greater than 18,000 accounts that collectively held greater than $100 billion.
An nameless whistle-blower gave the knowledge to German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, which shared the info with a nonprofit journalism group and dozens of different information organizations worldwide. The information covers accounts opened from the Forties till effectively into the final decade, the New York Instances mentioned Sunday. The Guardian mentioned a number of the accounts stay open.
Credit score Suisse issued a assertion quickly after the tales have been revealed, saying it “strongly rejects the allegations and insinuations concerning the financial institution’s purposed enterprise practices”. It mentioned the knowledge is “primarily based on partial, inaccurate, or selective data taken out of context, leading to tendentious interpretations of the financial institution’s enterprise conduct.”
It mentioned it reviewed the accounts concerned after receiving inquiries from the consortium engaged on the tales. About 90% are closed or have been already within the strategy of being shut, of which greater than 60% have been closed earlier than 2015, the financial institution mentioned.
“Of the remaining lively accounts, we’re comfy that applicable due diligence, critiques and different management associated steps,” the Zurich-based lender mentioned.
Among the many points highlighted within the Instances:
- There have been 25 accounts holding about $270 million that belonged to folks accused of involvement in a conspiracy surrounding Venezuela’s state-owned oil firm, Petroleos de Venezuela SA.
- One other account belonged to Zimbabwean businessman Muller Conrad “Billy” Rautenbach beneath sanction by US and European authorities for his connections to the federal government of former President Robert Mugabe.
In line with the Guardian, account holders included:
- A human trafficker within the Philippines
- A Hong Kong inventory trade official jailed for bribery
- Corrupt officers in international locations together with Egypt and Ukraine
“These media allegations look like a concerted effort to discredit not solely the financial institution however the Swiss monetary market-place as a complete, which has undergone vital modifications over the past a number of years,” Credit score Suisse mentioned in Sunday’s assertion.
“In keeping with monetary market reforms throughout the sector and in Switzerland, Credit score Suisse has taken a collection of serious further measures over the past decade, together with appreciable additional investments in combating monetary crime.”
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