Switzerland's financial regulator said it is prohibiting a Zurich-based bank from accepting new private clients after an investigation sparked by the «Panama Papers» uncovered a ten-year pattern of money-laundering.
Swiss regulator Finma banned Russian-owned Gazprombank from acquiring new private clients as a result of serious violations of Swiss money-laundering rules at the Zurich-based bank, according to a statement on Thursday.
The probe was sparked by the so-called Panama Papers, a trove of data leaked two years ago revealing how the rich and powerful are hiding their assets with the help of Mossack Fonseca law firm in Panama. Finma said it investigated more than 30 banks following the release of the data, going more in-depth at 20 of them.
Russian-Owned
Gazprom in Switzerland, owned by the Moscow-based bank of the same name, marks the conclusion of the Swiss probe. Finma said it found a ten-year pattern of lapses at the bank including categorizing risky clients and relationships incorrectly and keeping faulty records.
«In view of the shortcomings identified in the bank’s anti-money laundering control system, Finma has banned Gazprombank Switzerland from expanding its activities with private individuals,» the regulator said.
Gazprombank in Switzerland will also get an external monitor to make sure it is improving how it handles money which may be laundered, and must propose a board sub-committee with a majority of independent members.
Banker Bans
The sanctions are an assertion of power for Finma, which has advanced money-laundering to the top of its priorities in recent years. Since then, it has dissolved one bank, yanked a license for a fiduciary, and forced another firm to pay back ill-gotten profits. Eight bankers have been banned for their behavior, and seven more have found themselves in enforcement proceedings in the last two years.
Many of Gazprombank's breaches stem from before 2009, when the Swiss bank bought Russian Commercial Bank. In a statement, the merged bank said it accepts Finma's decision, and is primarily a trade financier and commercial lender with few relationships to wealthy clientele. The bank, based on a discreet, tree-lined street above Zurich which is home to several foundations and art collections, manages a little more than 3 billion Swiss francs, and employs 75 people.
