The Swiss banking regulator wants access to encrypted text messages sent by Credit Suisse managers as part of its investigation into the spying affaire that led to Pierre-Olivier Bouee's ousting. At the center of attention are texts sent via a Swiss instant-messaging service.
The investigation into the spying on ex-Credit-Suisse topbanker Iqbal Khan and former human resource chief Peter Goerke isn't over yet, months after the departure of CEO Tidjane Thiam.
The Swiss banking regulator (Finma) wants to see electronic messages sent by topbankers as it bids to conclude its investigation into the communication culture, governance and rules of documentation at Credit Suisse. News agency «Reuters» didn't provide the names of the managers that are included in the regulator's request.
Swiss Quality Messaging System
The investigators want to know whether the managers used an encrypted-messaging system to keep the content secret, «Reuters» said, citing three sources. The system named in the context of the Finma probe is called Threema, a Swiss product widely hailed as secure.
The Homburger law firm, which was charged with an internal investigation, had reported in October 2019 that Pierre-Olivier Bouee and security officials of the bank had used Threema messaging and that information exchanged via the system wasn't available to its investigators.
Only for Private Use
Two of the sources cited by«Reuters» said that Chairman Urs Rohner had also used Threema. The bank told the news agency in a statement that Rohner never had used Threema in a business context.
