UBS is accused of laundering millions for former Yemeni strongman Ali Abdulla Saleh. The Swiss bank has fought Swiss investigators for years because it doesn't want to turn over evidence.
Switzerland's attorney general has been investigating UBS since 2017 for suspected money laundering by a Yemeni client, believed to be strawmen for former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The Swiss bank transferred to Singapore $65 million on behalf of the Yemeni clients, who were on a United Nations sanctions list, Swiss investigative website «Gotham City» (behind paywall, in French) reported.
Saleh, veteran former president of Yemen, was killed in a roadside attack nearly three years ago. He repeatedly denied corruption allegations before his death. «Gotham City» reported that UBS notched a win in the case: a Swiss court ordered three sealed binders of client information to be returned to the bank.
UBS Lapse?
The ruling is based on an error by Swiss prosecutors, who filed a request to unseal one day too late. «Gotham City» reported that in fact, the mistake is due to UBS' failure to report suspicious transactions to a Swiss anti-money laundering office.
By 2017, Swiss financial regulator Finma got involved, after Switzerland's attorney general opened a probe. In 2019, prosecutors seized documents with client data on the transactions which UBS had previously successfully had sealed.
