An ex-investment banker in Switzerland faces charges for allegedly producing methamphetamine in his home. The Walter White of Swiss banking?

Eric Velve, an unemployed investment banker in Zug, will likely be charged with drug violations, after police found him manufacturing substances including recreational drug methamphetamine, Swiss daily «Luzerner Zeitung» (in German) reported.

Velve is a former J.P. Morgan investment banker who moved to Zug after leaving a job in Geneva. He has been detained in a Zug jail since April, when a neighbor called police suspecting a break-in at Velve's home. Authorities found a professional laboratory equipped to manufacture synthetic drugs including crystal meth.

Huge Misunderstanding?

The ex-banker vigorously denies that he is Swiss banking's Walter White, the protagonist of «Breaking Bad», an American television series about a chemistry teacher who begins manufacturing meth to secure his family's future after learning he is terminally ill. Instead, he said he has been experimenting with chemistry since his childhood.

Velve told the paper that his actions were motivated by scientific curiosity, not profit, and that he is the victim of a massive misunderstanding. He maintains that he never sold drugs or harbored criminal intent. A spokesman for Zug's prosecutor said the investigation against Velve will be concluded this month, and charges brought.