Switzerland's regulator censured two more banks for their involvement in Venezuelan corruption.
Finma found Banca Zarattini & Co. and CBH, which stands for Compagnie Bancaire Helvétique, failed to fight money laundering when dealing with wealthy Venezuelan offshore clients, the Bern-based regulator said in a statement on Thursday. It marks the end of regulatory proceedings against these two banks.
Zarattini and CBH are the fourth and fifth Swiss banks that Finma has imposed measures on over their involvement with monies allegedly siphoned from PDVSA, Venezuela's state-controlled oil firm. Credit Suisse, Julius Baer, and Credinvest – a tiny Ticino lender which has at least one Venezuelan shareholder – had previously been censured by Finma.
Ending Venezuelan Probes
Besides ordering Zarattini and CBH to comply with money laundering law, Finma is also temporarily banning Zarattini from accepting new Venezuelan and politically-exposed clients. The bank noted the censure in an emailed statement, saying it had contacted Finma on its own initiative upon discovering the violations.
At CBH, Finma ordered the bank to end all remaining business relationships with Venezuelans, as well as review other especially risky client relationships with a view to terminating these as well if necessary. In a statement, CBH underlined that it had not been subject to any sanction, financial or otherwise, and that the restrictions imposed corresponded to decisions already taken and implemented by CBH prior to Finma's decision.
Finma said Zarattini, based in Lugano, and CBH, a Genevan wealth manager, represent the last two enforcement proceedings Finma conducted over Venezuela and PDVSA in particular. During the course of investigating the issue, Finma said it contacted 30 banks in total.
