Rothschild bank sanctioned for role in 1MDB scandal
The 1MDB scandal has seen billions disappear from the sovereign wealth fund.
Keystone
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 Politics
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.
Lindt & Sprüngli reportedly considering shifting Easter bunny production to US
This content was published on
Swiss chocolate manufacturer Lindt & Sprüngli could relocate the production of its gold-wrapped Easter bunnies to the US in order to circumvent the import tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
Swiss petition launched against curbing 30km/h speed limit
This content was published on
The Traffic Club of Switzerland (TCS) has submitted a petition to the Federal Chancellery, challenging the 30km/h speed limit on local roads.
Swiss government backs abolishing imputed rental value
This content was published on
The abolition of the imputed rental value in federal tax is intended to reduce incentives for high private debt and simplify the tax system. On Friday, Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter spoke on behalf of the Federal Council in favour of Parliament's proposal.
This content was published on
After a strong start to the year, the Swiss economy has slowed considerably. In the second quarter, gross domestic product (GDP) rose by just 0.1 per cent on an adjusted basis compared to the previous quarter.
This content was published on
The Ticino cantonal criminal court in Lugano has found a priest guilty of multiple sexual assault and sexual offences with minors. The man was sentenced to a conditional 18-month prison term.
Swiss disappointed by failed plastics agreement in Geneva
This content was published on
Switzerland will not get its Geneva agreement against plastic pollution. Chief negotiator Felix Wertli spoke on Friday morning of his delegation's disappointment.
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.