ZURICH – The “Suisse Secrets” data leak claiming to reveal how Credit Suisse handled billions of dollars in dirty money has renewed pressure on Switzerland’s financial sector, which has spent years trying to clean up its image.
Switzerland’s second largest bank was rocked Sunday by a vast investigation by dozens of media organisations into leaked data they said showed Credit Suisse held more than US$8 billion (RM33.5 billion) in accounts of criminals, dictators, and rights abusers.
The bank flatly rejected the “allegations and insinuations” in the investigation, coordinated by the non-profit journalism group the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
It stressed in a statement that many of the issues raised in the probe were historical, some dating back more than 70 years, and that 90% of the accounts in question had been closed.
The allegations, it said, “appear to be a concerted effort to discredit not only the bank but the Swiss financial marketplace as a whole”.
The investigation was only the latest blow to the scandal-plagued bank, which was rocked last year by the implosions of financial firms Greensill and Archegos.
Last month saw its chairman resign for having breached Covid-19 quarantine rules.
But it could also hit Switzerland’s powerful financial sector as a whole, which for years has strived to improve its image on the international stage. – AFP, February 20, 2022
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