There has been a turn of events in the case which would have seen the first Swiss company to be held accountable in court.
The ex-CEO of Falcon Private Bank and the bank were acquitted in a ruling issued Monday, according to «AWP». The Appeals Chamber stated that it was not possible to prove money laundering, according to the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland.
Swiss prosecutors had alleged wrong-doing in a stake that Aabar Investments, the Abu Dhabi vehicle through which the oil-rich emirate controlled Falcon, took in Italian bank Unicredit. During last month’s trial, the Federal Prosecutor's Office demanded a prison sentence of 21 months and a fine of 90 daily rates for the banker.
Criminal Code
The criminal division of the Federal Criminal Court had acquitted the man at the end of 2021.
The bank, which is now called Falcon Private AG, was sentenced to a fine of 3.5 million francs because of the lack of measures to combat money laundering and was ordered to pay a compensation claim of around 7 million francs. It too has now been acquitted.
Falcon, which owner Abu Dhabi was forced to sell itself to a rival after failing to recover from its dealings with 1MDB, would have been the first Swiss company to be held accountable under an 18-year-old criminal code.
