In a new twist to the criminal investigation into Raiffeisen's ex-CEO Pierin Vincenz, the Swiss banker's ex-wife was convicted of violating banking secrecy laws. Vincenz himself is due to stand trial in January.
Nadja Ceregato, until 2017 the head of compliance and legal affairs at Raiffeisen as well as the former wife of the bank's long-standing CEO Pierin Vincenz, was convicted of passing on confidential data in a simplified proceeding, according to Swiss broadcaster «SRF,» which reported it had viewed the documents.
Ceregato paid nearly 56,000 Swiss francs ($61,000) in fines and court fees as a result of the decision, carried out by Zurich's prosecutor. Specifically, she was found to have passed on confidential documents to her husband, Vincenz, via WhatsApp chats, the broadcaster reported. It isn't clear how she had access to the data, as she had by that time left the bank.
Vincenz himself is in the midst of one of the most torrid scandals to hit Swiss banking in years: he and an associate are due in January to stand trial on allegations of secret side deals for themselves, in parallel to transactions Raiffeisen spearheaded. Ceregato and Vincenz reportedly separated in 2019 and divorced earlier this year.
