The Swiss voice in the world since 1935
Top stories
Stay in touch with Switzerland

Credit Suisse admits to second spying case

Credit Suisse sign framed by a Christmas tress
Credit Suisse has been forced into a second embarrassing apology. Keystone / Walter Bieri

An investigation by Credit Suisse has confirmed that a second employee was placed under “inexcusable” surveillance. The bank said that employees had lied about this during an earlier probe into the spying of a former executive.

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 to rivals UBS. It has now been forced to repeat this message regarding its former head of human resources Peter Goerke.

“The observation of Peter Goerke, which has now been confirmed, is inexcusable,” chairman Urs Rohner said in a statement on MondayExternal link. “It is of grave concern that the responsible individuals failed to answer truthfully about this observation during the external investigation in September 2019.”

“We are aware that the observations of Iqbal Khan and Peter Goerke have damaged the reputation of our bank. With the measures that we have put in place, we are sending a clear message that the Board of Directors firmly rejects a culture of observation.”

Credit Suisse said it would fully cooperate with a probe by Swiss financial regulator after the second covert surveillance case was uncovered by a newspaper. It added that “safeguards” have already been put into place to prevent this from happening again.

“These include personnel decisions and the mandate to implement more rigorous internal policies.”

More



Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Gurten Festival attracts 98,000 people to Bern's local mountain

More

Gurten Festival wraps up with 98,000 music lovers

This content was published on Over the four days, around 98,000 people – including volunteers – made their way up Bern’s local mountain for the 42nd edition of the festival.

Read more: Gurten Festival wraps up with 98,000 music lovers
Army seeks "contemporary" solution for bunker facilities

More

Swiss army looks to repurpose old bunkers

This content was published on The army is looking for a modern solution for its decommissioned fortress mortar bunkers, with plans to turn them into hardened defence hubs.

Read more: Swiss army looks to repurpose old bunkers
Women's Euro: Berne celebrates a football festival without a happy ending

More

Switzerland knocked out of Women’s Euro 2025

This content was published on Spain ended Switzerland’s run in the Women’s Euros on Friday, but fans in Bern made history with the largest supporters’ march in Women’s Euros history.

Read more: Switzerland knocked out of Women’s Euro 2025
Solar aeroplane flies around the Matterhorn

More

Solar plane flies around Matterhorn

This content was published on Solar energy pioneer Raphaël Domjan and his team continued preparations for the altitude record attempt at 10,000 metres with the SolarStratos solar aircraft.

Read more: Solar plane flies around Matterhorn
Compulsory vaccination against cattle disease in Geneva and parts of Vaud

More

Vaccinations imposed for some Swiss cattle

This content was published on Cattle in the canton of Geneva and in the neighbouring region of Terre Sainte in the canton of Vaud are being vaccinated against the contagious viral skin nodule disease. The first cases of the animal disease were reported at the end of June in France, just outside Geneva.

Read more: Vaccinations imposed for some Swiss cattle

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

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.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR