French businessman accuses Credit Suisse of espionage
A French businessman claims he was spied on by Credit Suisse (CS) because his wife was having an affair with then-CEO Tidjane Thiam.
He is now demanding compensation of at least $15 million (CHF12.9 million) from UBS – which took over CS.
The new twist in the Credit Suisse corporate espionage scandal was published in Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) today. When contacted by the AWP news agency, UBS declined to comment on the issue.
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According to the NZZ, the businessman in question accuses CS of organizing an extensive espionage programme against him between 2016 and 2019. This surveillance was allegedly orchestrated personally by then-CEO Thiam, who at that time had a secret romantic relationship with his wife.
According to the man, who lives in Hong Kong, this very relationship allegedly led to divorce. One of the allegations made is that the ex-wife and Thiam spied on him because of the divorce proceedings, including for financial reasons. According to the NZZ, the woman is now Thiam’s romantic partner.
The affair is part of a larger picture on corporate espionage. As known in late 2019, it had emerged that Credit Suisse had top manager Iqbal Khan and other executives tailed. Thiam, who resigned in February 2020, always maintained that he knew nothing about such surveillance.
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The lawsuit by the French businessman was filed on April 11, 2024 in a local court in the U.S. state of Washington. The court in question has jurisdiction over the district where tech giant Microsoft is located. According to the indictment among other things, spies hacked into the alleged victim’s Microsoft email account.
Adapted from Italian by DeepL/ac
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