Switzerland's regulator reproved Bank Syz for not doing enough to prevent an Angolan businessman from allegedly laundering ill-gotten cash in Swiss offshore accounts.
Finma reprimanded Bank Syz, a Geneva-based wealth manager, for failing in its duties to root out anti-money laundering in a high-profile case of an Angolan client, the Bern-based regulator said in a statement on Monday. Finma didn't name the client, who has previously been reported as Carlos Manuel de São Vicente, a politically connected Angolan-Portuguese businessman.
«The bank did not adequately resolve issues that should have raised suspicions, even though the client was identified as having links with politically exposed persons – PEP – and the relationship was classified in this category,» Finma said. The regulator has sanctioned scores of Swiss banks for money laundering scandals including PDVSA, 1MDB, and FIFA.
Frozen Funds
Finma's censure of Syz, controlled by Swiss banker Eric Syz, doesn't include a clawback of profits. The regulator acknowledged that the Swiss bank met its reporting obligation. Syz itself blew the whistle, raising alarm with Swiss money laundering officials at MROS at the end of 2018. Geneva's prosecutor took up the case, leading $1 billion to be frozen at Syz.
The bank itself isn't being criminally investigated. Finma said it is appointing an outside auditor for Syz, but recognized the bank's improvements towards «restoring full compliance with the regulations.» Syz said it «attaches the utmost importance to compliance with its anti-money laundering obligations.»
