Credit Suisse believes the law firm that is looking into the spying scandal at the bank is prejudiced. The bank is taking the regulator to court over the case.
Credit Suisse had said in April that it didn’t agree with the appointment of Thomas Werlen as an independent counsel. Banking regulator Finma had called upon the managing partner at Quinn Emanuel to look into how the bank handled its corporate-governance duties in context with the spying job against its ex-employee Iqbal Khan.
The bank has now chosen to take the case of the appointment to the highest Swiss court, according to a report by «Tages-Anzeiger». The Swiss Federal Administrative Court, which is one level below the highest court, had rejected the bid by Credit Suisse. The bank had argued that Werlen wasn’t independent as the law firm has been hostile towards it and had boasted of acting against it. Also, Quinn Emanuel had been engaged in cases against the bank.
Independence of Quinn Emanuel Questioned
The administrative court had argued in its statement against Credit Suisse that Werlen as a partner of the firm wasn’t participating in the earnings of the global firm and therefore was to be considered as independent.
Credit Suisse isn’t happy about the court’s decision: «Credit Suisse confirms that it wants the verdict of the administrative court to be examined by the Federal Court. The core of the question remains the independence of the inspecting law firm Quinn Emanuel. It is our opinion that Quinn Emanuel isn’t independent as stipulated by law, because it is conducting many legal cases against the bank across the world.»
Failed Bid to Get the Mobile Phones of Top Executives
In the meantime, Werlen has started with his task together with a 12-strong team. He is looking into emails and phone data as well as conducting interviews. In March, he reportedly tried to get the mobile phones of all executives of the bank plus those of the board members, to no avail.
