Zurich prosecutor charges former Raiffeisen bank chief Vincenz
The Zurich public prosecutor has accused the ex-CEO of Swiss bank Raiffeisen Pierin Vincenz of fraud, embezzlement and bribery following a two-year criminal investigation.
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA/jdp
In a statementExternal link released on Tuesday, the district attorney general said that it had closed the criminal investigation and was bringing charges against nine people, including Vincenz as well as the former head of credit card company Aduno. The main defendants are accused of commercial fraud, embezzlement, forgery and bribery to the detriment of Aduno and Raiffeisen.
In February 2018, Zurich prosecutors opened criminal proceedings into Vincenz and several others over suspected misconduct. Vincenz was accused of illegally enriching himself by making personal investments in two Raiffeisen subsidiaries, Aduno and Investnet. Raiffeisen bank also joined the criminal probe as a plaintiff.
Vincenz was taken into custody while the Zurich prosecutor gathered evidence. He was eventually released after 15 weeks behind bars.
Vincenz headed Raiffeisen from 1999 to 2015 during a period of expansion. Raiffeisen is Switzerland’s third largest banking group after UBS and Credit Suisse and one of four banks that the Swiss financial regulator considers “too big to fail”.
What do you think Switzerland’s Alain Berset can bring to the Council of Europe?
The former interior minister is to become the first Swiss Secretary General of the Council of Europe – which issues should his five-year term focus on?
How is your country dealing with the return of stolen artifacts?
Western nations like Switzerland often have to deal with the process of recovering or returning looted artifacts which have been illegally imported. What’s the situation like in your country?
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Former Raiffeisen boss Vincenz faces criminal probe
This content was published on
“Raiffeisen is therefore making a maximum contribution to the complete clarification of all processes,” the bank said in a statement on Wednesday. Vincenz has been dogged by suspicions of conflict of interest during his tenure as Raiffeisen boss, during which he personally invested in subsidiaries of the banking group. There have also been questions surrounding…
This content was published on
In a statement, Vincenz called his detention period “unnecessary and completely disproportionate in its length”. He and a former business partner, who was also released at the same time, were held while Zurich prosecutors gathered evidence. In February, Vincenz was accused of illegally enriching himself by making personal investments in two Raiffesisen subsidiaries, Aduno and…
This content was published on
An independent study of the Swiss bank has found no evidence of criminal conduct. But the bank has announced the departure of three board members.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.