Credit Suisse snooped on Greenpeace, newspaper says
The Credit Suisse bank, which was rocked by an internal spying scandal last year, also conducted ‘espionage’ against Greenpeace, Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung has reported.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Reuters/dos
Credit Suisse’s former Chief Operating Officer Pierre-Olivier Bouée allegedly ordered the head of security to infiltrate the environmental NGO after the bank’s 2017 annual meeting in Zurich had been disrupted by activists, the newspaper reported on Sunday.
The bank then managed to gain access to Greenpeace emails about planned upcoming demonstrations, which it then prepared for, for example by erecting building sites to prevent activists getting too close to its buildings.
Neither Credit Suisse nor Greenpeace gave further details on the affair, although the bank said that its CEO Tidiane Thiam was unaware of the operation.
For his part, Bouée was dismissed in December over another spying scandal that made headlines through last year, when it turned out the bank had been conducting surveillance on former executive board members Iqbal Khan and Peter Goerke.
FINMA, Switzerland’s market supervisor, is currently investigating this case.
The affair has heightened internal struggles at Credit Suisse, where a “showdown” is expected at next week’s board meeting, according to the SonntagsZeitung. It speculates that either Thiam or chairman Urs Rohner is on the way out.
Credit Suisse has come under attack by climate and environmental activists largely due to its investments in fossil fuels. Last month, a court in Lausanne acquitted a group of activists who had staged a tennis match on the bank’s premises. The acquittal is to be appealed.
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.
Swiss climate activists block vehicles near Gotthard tunnel
This content was published on
Around ten climate activists briefly blocked the A2 motorway near the northern entrance of the Gotthard tunnel on Thursday.
Watches belonging to Michael Schumacher up for auction
This content was published on
Schumacher's family is auctioning off eight rare watches from his collection in Geneva. The Christie's auction will take place on Monday.
Joya Marleen and Baschi named best solo acts at Swiss Music Awards
This content was published on
St. Gallen singer Joya Marleen and Baschi from Basel were named artists of the year at the Swiss Music Awards 2024 on Wednesday night.
Swiss authorities announce cost-cutting in asylum sector
This content was published on
The government notably wants to improve integration into the labour force, particularly for people with protection status S.
Various leaders confirm participation at Ukraine peace conference
This content was published on
The presidents of Poland, Finland, and Latvia and the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium will be at the Swiss-hosted talks in mid-June.
This content was published on
A district court in Lausanne acquitted the activists, many of them students, on Monday. They were on trial after refusing to pay a fine of CHF21,600 ($22,254) for trespassing. Video footage from 2018 shows students dressed in tennis whites playing matches inside Credit Suisse branches. They wanted Swiss tennis star Roger Federer to drop his sponsorship deal with the bank because…
The feud at Credit Suisse that has shaken Swiss banking
This content was published on
Swiss banking has been rocked by lurid details of the relationship breakdown between Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam and star banker Iqbal Khan.
This content was published on
But the bank denied that CEO Tidjane Thiam or the board of directors had been aware of either spying case. The blame has again been laid squarely with former executive Pierre-Olivier Bouée, who has been sacked. The bank had already apologized for spying on former wealth management head Iqbal Khan, who has subsequently moved on…
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.