Two sheiks from Kuwait are squabbling – using connections to Mirabaud and Pictet to aim arrows at each other. Now, the Swiss attorney general has decided to have a look.
Ahmed and Nasser, the two Kuwaiti sheiks, are feuding because they both want to succeed the incumbent Emir. In their bids to smear each other's reputation, they both say that the other had moved money through Swiss bank accounts to enrich themselves.
A complaint against Fahad Al-Rajaan, the former general manager of the local social insurance authority (PIFSS), is the tip of the iceberg. In the complaint, the authority accuses Al-Rajaan and his wife of corruption and money-laundering. They are said to have taken $200 million.
Swiss Investigation
The money seems to have ended up on Swiss accounts, according to a report by «Le Temps» newspaper in Switzerland (story behind paywall). The Swiss attorney general has opened an investigation into commissions paid at Mirabaud and Pictet private banks, but is not targeting either bank.
Al-Rajaan is Ahmed's man. Middle East media reported that a Swiss bank had offered $30 million to a Kuwaiti authority hoping to keep the story under wraps. The name of the bank is not known however.
Mirabaud and Pictet as companies are not part of the Swiss investigation.
«Mirabaud is not facing charges and has been cooperating fully with the judicial authorities since 2012,» a spokesman for that bank said.
