France’s second-biggest bank Societe Generale has fired the chief executive of its Russian unit, Rosbank, after he was prosecuted for bribery, and the lender will, reportedly, launch a search for a successor.
Rosbank CEO, Vladimir Golubkov, has been fired by the lender’s Board with immediate effect, reported Reuters.
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Golubkov’s first deputy, Igor Antonov, will continue as acting chief executive until a replacement has been settled upon.
Golubkov was detained in Moscow "on suspicion of receiving illegal monetary compensation" totaling US$159,600, and was also suspected of soliciting a bribe of US$1.5 million to grant a loan, PBI reported on 15 May.
A second senior Rosbank manager was also held.
The Golubkov bribery case has raised questions about strategy at SocGen, which paid an estimated EUR4 billion (us$5.2 billion) to acquire 82% of Rosbank. The unit has, however, been unable to generate meaningful profits in Russia.
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By GlobalDataMorale at Rosbank was "intact", however, after the incident, SocGen’s Didier Hauguel, who oversees the French bank’s activities in Russia as well as its insurance and specialised financial services operations, told newspaper Le Figaro.
