Former Geneva private banker charged with money laundering
Published: Wednesday, Apr 3rd 2024, 11:20
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An ex-member of the board of directors of a Geneva private bank must answer to the Federal Criminal Court for money laundering and other property offenses. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has concluded almost ten years of criminal proceedings against the man and his wife.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday, it brought charges. According to the statement, between 2009 and 2015, the accused allegedly disposed of assets in a banking relationship in Switzerland amounting to more than CHF 14 million that had been entrusted to him by a client without authorization. The proceedings also concern the wife of the former asset manager. She is alleged to have carried out individual acts of money laundering although she was already aware of the proceedings against her husband.
The man must answer to the Federal Criminal Court for repeated serious embezzlement, repeated serious mismanagement and repeated forgery of documents as well as repeated money laundering. His wife is charged with repeated money laundering.
Goal of self-enrichment
According to the indictment of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, the accused allegedly entered into an agreement with a client in 2008 at the latest, in which he undertook to manage the client's assets in a banking relationship opened with a private bank in Geneva and, contrary to reality, to pose as the beneficial owner of these assets. Between 2008 and 2014, the client invested substantial amounts in this banking relationship for the purpose of management by the accused.
In this context, the defendant is accused of unlawfully disposing of assets entrusted to him in the total amount of more than CHF 14 million between 2009 and July 2015 without the knowledge of his client - with the aim of enriching himself or third parties.
In addition, the accused is alleged to have sent his client forged bank account statements in order to conceal the unauthorized debits. Finally, the former asset manager is accused of repatriating assets of criminal origin from the Dominican Republic to three bank accounts in Switzerland.
The accused are presumed innocent until the final verdict is announced.
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