Rothschild bank sanctioned for role in 1MDB scandal
The 1MDB scandal has seen billions disappear from the sovereign wealth fund.
Keystone
The Swiss financial regulator has concluded its investigations into the Malaysian 1MDB scandal by finding Rothschild Bank AG and one of its subsidiaries in serious breach of anti-money laundering regulations.
This content was published on
2 minutes
SDA-ATS/mga
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) said on Friday that it has appointed an auditor to make sure the bank and its Rothschild Trust vehicle properly implement an internal overhaul of its practices.
Rothschild Bank AG is the third Swiss bank to be directly implicated in the 1MDB fraud that saw billions of dollars syphoned off from the sovereign wealth fund into the pockets of corrupt officials.
BSI and Falcon banks have also been subject to FINMA enforcements. In addition, the Swiss Attorney General is conducting criminal probes into those two banks plus six unnamed individuals. The long-running scandal has also seen criminal actions in Malaysia, Singapore and the United States.
Concerning Rothschild, FINMA statedExternal link that the two entities were found to be “in breach of due diligence, reporting and documentation requirements”.
“Although there were early indications that this client could be involved in money laundering activities, the institutions decided nevertheless to enter into the relationship and at a later stage considerably expand it,” the statement read.
The entities also failed to document suspicious transactions or report them in a timely manner, FINMA ruled.
The regulator also said on Friday that it has officially closed its 1MDB related investigations following seven enforcement actions.
More
More
Swiss parliament rejects call to return confiscated funds to Malaysia
This content was published on
On Thursday, Switzerland’s parliament refused to amend the law governing ill-gotten bank profits seized by Bern.
Swiss price watchdog slams excessive prices for generic medicines
This content was published on
The cheapest generic medicines available in Switzerland are more than twice as expensive as in other countries, according to a study by the Swiss price watchdog.
Nature should not figure in net zero calculations: academic study
This content was published on
The natural removal of CO2 from the atmosphere by forests or oceans should not be included in the net-zero balance of climate protection measures, argue researchers.
This content was published on
None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.
This content was published on
Nestlé's new CEO Laurent Freixe, has presented plans for the future of the world's largest food company, after his first few weeks in office.
Swiss foreign minister calls on Moscow to end Ukraine war
This content was published on
It's high time Moscow ended its war against Ukraine, Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis tells the UN Security Council.
This content was published on
The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.
Study reveals food culture differences between Switzerland and neighbours
This content was published on
Three-quarters of Swiss people consider eating to be a pleasurable, social activity, a new survey reveals. Healthy eating, however, plays a much less important role, it found.
Big fines for banks not effective, says FINMA head
This content was published on
In an interview published in the Sunday papers Le Matin Dimanche and Sonntags Zeitung on Sunday, Branson acknowledged the inability of FINMA to impose big fines on errant banks. For example, Falcon Bank, that was found guilty of diverting $3.8 billion (CHF3.76 billion) to discredited Malaysian investment fund 1MDB, was only required to return the…
This content was published on
Swiss prosecutors have launched a criminal probe against officials of a Saudi Arabian oil company in an escalation of the IMDB scandal.
This content was published on
The enquiry estimates that some $4 billion (CHF4 billion) has been syphoned out of the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund into the pockets of corrupt officials. The suspects, which include Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and other family members, are thought to have used the money to buy art works, property and even finance the movie…
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.