Ahead of the trial, Pierre Mirabaud, the former president of the Swiss Bankers Association, had admitted the charges and participated in an agreement to compensate Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS).

The Federal Criminal Court heard the case under an accelerated procedure. It endorsed the indictment filed by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, according to Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA. Following the questioning of the now-retired Geneva banker, the court read out the operative part of the judgment late on Tuesday morning.

Kickbacks, Investments and Commission Income

The proceedings centred on Mirabaud’s long-standing business relationship with Fahad Al-Rajaan, the former director general of Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS). According to the Office of the Attorney General, Mirabaud systematically granted the then senior official unjustified kickbacks totalling 82.33 million francs between May 2000 and March 2012.

In return, Al-Rajaan allegedly invested PIFSS funds with the Geneva private bank. By the end of 2012, the corresponding assets amounted to just over 595 million dollar. They were invested, among other things, in investment funds managed by the Mirabaud Group. The transactions generated millions in revenue for the bank, some of which was distributed to its partners.

The trial of Pierre Mirabaud is just one small part of a complex web of long-running legal proceedings pursued by Kuwait for years against Al-Rajaan and his associates. Al-Rajaan died in London in 2022.