Zurich-based Julius Baer is locked in a legal battle with Lithuania over a Russian client, involved in the collapse of the Bank Snoras. And the Baltic country is sticking to its guns.
The liquidator of the Lithuanian Bank Snoras has impounded around 27 million Swiss francs ($28 million), held in an account at Julius Baer, and belonging to controversial Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov. According to a weekend report in «Tages-Anzeiger» (behind paywall, in German) Antonov is accused off siphoning funds from Bank Snoras, and depositing them at Julius Baer.
The issue has been dragging on for years, and as finews.com has reported previously, Snoras submitted a claim in February 2017 for more than 306 million euros ($377 million) against the Swiss private bank.
Ill-Gotten Money?
The claim relates to suspicions that Snoras monies were illegally tapped by Antonov and Raymond Baranauskas, who controlled Bank Snoras. In 2011 Lithuania stepped in and nationalized Snoras after signs emerged of management fraud and the falsification of documents.
The Snoras liquidator claims Julius Baer had not done enough to establish the origin of the monies deposited. Julius Baer currently faces several cases of possible non-compliance relating to client transactions. Swiss financial regulator Finma is currently conducting an enforcement process against the bank.
