Switzerland's prosecutor is conducting 40 probes into suspected corruption connected to Brazil's Petrobras. Banque Cramer & Cie is the latest bank to be ensnared.
The Bern-based attorney general opened an investigation into Geneva's Banque Cramer & Cie, investigative website «Gotham City» and «AWP» reported. The Swiss bank is suspected of grievous lapses which enabled illicit money to be laundered.
The investigation is connected to Petrobras-Odebrecht graft scandal at Brazil's state-controlled oil firm. Executives are suspected of paying politicians millions in order to win lucrative contracts.
Lugano In Focus
Switzerland has emerged as a linchpin in the corruption; the Swiss prosecutor has been working with Brazilian officials since 2014 and opened nearly 40 probes as a result, including against J. Safra Sarasin und PKB.
Cramer's Lugano office is in focus of Swiss investigators, according to «Gotham City». The bank belongs to investment company Norinvest.
Offshore Accounts
The alleged corruption at Cramer dates back nearly ten years: the «Financial Times» reported in 2015 that an ex-Petrobras executive and several other Brazilians with connections to the company met a Cramer banker in Italy.
Cramer later opened accounts for an offshore company with the executives as beneficiaries, the «FT» reported. The pink paper wrote that HSBC's Swiss arm, Pictet, Lombard Odier, and Julius Baer were involved in the case, besides Cramer.
Cramer's Reversal
Cramer didn't identify any money laundering risks in connection with those clients, according to «Gotham City,» which cited know-your-customer files it had seen. It isn't clear whether the executives were so-called politically exposed persons – PEPs – which command more careful vetting.
One of the executives later told investigators he had transferred bribery money to seven different Swiss banks, the portal reported. The executive's supervisors also maintained accounts at Cramer, through offshore companies, «Gotham» reported.
The news comes shortly after Cramer last year pledged to completely alter its business model after replacing management. The bank returned to a profit in the first half of this year.
