Rothschild bank sanctioned for role in 1MDB scandal
The Swiss financial regulator has concluded its investigations into the Malaysian 1MDB scandal by finding Rothschild Bank AG and one of its subsidiaries in serious breach of anti-money laundering regulations.
This content was published on
2 minutes
SDA-ATS/mga
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) said on Friday that it has appointed an auditor to make sure the bank and its Rothschild Trust vehicle properly implement an internal overhaul of its practices.
Rothschild Bank AG is the third Swiss bank to be directly implicated in the 1MDB fraud that saw billions of dollars syphoned off from the sovereign wealth fund into the pockets of corrupt officials.
BSI and Falcon banks have also been subject to FINMA enforcements. In addition, the Swiss Attorney General is conducting criminal probes into those two banks plus six unnamed individuals. The long-running scandal has also seen criminal actions in Malaysia, Singapore and the United States.
Concerning Rothschild, FINMA statedExternal link that the two entities were found to be “in breach of due diligence, reporting and documentation requirements”.
“Although there were early indications that this client could be involved in money laundering activities, the institutions decided nevertheless to enter into the relationship and at a later stage considerably expand it,” the statement read.
The entities also failed to document suspicious transactions or report them in a timely manner, FINMA ruled.
The regulator also said on Friday that it has officially closed its 1MDB related investigations following seven enforcement actions.
More
More
Swiss parliament rejects call to return confiscated funds to Malaysia
This content was published on
On Thursday, Switzerland’s parliament refused to amend the law governing ill-gotten bank profits seized by Bern.
This content was published on
Nemo brought the Eurovision Song Contest to Switzerland with a victory on Saturday evening in Malmö, Sweden. It is Switzerland's third victory in the history of the music contest.
Switzerland abstains from vote on Palestinian bid for full UN membership
This content was published on
On Friday, Switzerland abstained from the vote at the General Assembly on granting the Palestinians new rights at the United Nations (UN).
Protein in abdominal fat could help shape obesity treatment
This content was published on
The study analysed fat cells from different locations in the body, and found that those in the abdomen have unique properties.
North African asylum claims fall after rapid Swiss processing
This content was published on
The accelerated procedure, now out of its test phase, has resulted in a significant drop in applications from North African countries.
This content was published on
The artist's song "The Code" focuses on their journey as a nonbinary individual. It is one of the favourites to win this year's contest.
Big fines for banks not effective, says FINMA head
This content was published on
In an interview published in the Sunday papers Le Matin Dimanche and Sonntags Zeitung on Sunday, Branson acknowledged the inability of FINMA to impose big fines on errant banks. For example, Falcon Bank, that was found guilty of diverting $3.8 billion (CHF3.76 billion) to discredited Malaysian investment fund 1MDB, was only required to return the…
This content was published on
Swiss prosecutors have launched a criminal probe against officials of a Saudi Arabian oil company in an escalation of the IMDB scandal.
This content was published on
The enquiry estimates that some $4 billion (CHF4 billion) has been syphoned out of the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund into the pockets of corrupt officials. The suspects, which include Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and other family members, are thought to have used the money to buy art works, property and even finance the movie…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.