A Swiss court has removed UBS Group from a money-laundering case tied to the Mozambique tuna-bond scandal, a matter the bank inherited through its 2023 takeover of Credit Suisse.
Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court said UBS could not be held responsible for alleged misconduct connected to events that took place long before the emergency takeover of Credit Suisse.
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“Transferring criminal liability to UBS, coupled with its conviction and the payment of a fine as a criminal penalty, would violate the principle of culpability” and run contrary to both the Swiss constitution and European Convention on Human Rights, the court said.
UBS said that it welcomes “the court’s recognition” that it “cannot be held liable in this matter, as such liability cannot be transferred to a legal successor through a merger.”
In October 2023, UBS entered a separate settlement with Mozambique concerning Credit Suisse’s involvement in the affair.
That deal ended proceedings in London that had started about ten years earlier, when Credit Suisse helped fund a coastal patrol project and a tuna fishing fleet for Mozambique.
In 2021, Credit Suisse agreed to pay nearly $475m to settle several investigations in different jurisdictions over its role in the scandal.
Mozambique had accused the Swiss bank of overlooking warning signs and corruption involving its own bankers in transactions linked to roughly $2bn in bond deals.
Swiss prosecutors nonetheless pursued another case, which led to a December indictment against the bank.
It was accused of failing to stop suspected money laundering involving service fees related to the loans.
However, proceedings against a former Credit Suisse compliance officer, who was also charged in December, will continue, the court said.
Prosecutors said the individual knew that so-called “running fees” transferred from Mozambique into Credit Suisse accounts might be connected to likely bribes.
Instead of submitting a suspicious activity report to the Money Laundering Reporting Office of Switzerland, the person ended the business relationship, according to prosecutors.
Credit Suisse did not file a report until 2019, after the US Department of Justice said it had opened criminal proceedings related to the scandal.
The Attorney-General’s Office of Switzerland has 10 days to challenge the ruling by the federal criminal court.
