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Swiss prosecutors have leveled charges against Credit Suisse and its current owner UBS, citing alleged organizational “deficiencies” related to a contentious $7 million payment at the heart of the infamous Mozambique $2 billion “tuna bonds” scandal.
The attorney-general’s office revealed that Credit Suisse, acquired by Swiss competitor UBS in 2023, neglected to implement sufficient controls and failed to report the questionable transaction until 2019, several years after it occurred.
In their announcement, prosecutors claimed that Credit Suisse, alongside its parent group and succeeding entities at UBS, “failed to prevent the offence due to organizational shortcomings.”
Additionally, charges have been brought against a former compliance officer, accused of money laundering for facilitating the transfer of approximately $7 million to the UAE in 2016.
The origins of the tuna bonds case date back to a $2 billion agreement in 2013, whereby Mozambique, one of the globe’s most impoverished nations, secured substantial loans from international investors purportedly to enhance maritime security and develop a state-run tuna fishing fleet.
But much of the money was secretly misused, with officials and bankers accused of taking bribes and leaving the country with huge debts.
The case marks Switzerland’s potentially most significant action to date tied to the scandal, which involved more than $2bn in state-backed loans.
“We firmly reject the Office of the attorney-general’s conclusions and will vigorously defend our position,” UBS said in a statement.
This is a developing story
