SWISS BANK ‘GUILTY’
…U.S. prosecutors believe Credit Suisse is culpable in Moz scandal
NEW YORK - U.S. prosecutors are i nv e s t i gat i n g Credit Suisse Group AG’s role in a $2 billion Mozambique corruption case and believe they have evidence of the Swiss lender’s culpability after three former bankers pleaded guilty last year, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Prosecutors believe Credit Suisse can be held criminally liable for its employees’ crimes if they were committed in the scope of their role and at least partly benefitted the bank, said one of the sources who is a U.S. law enforcement official.
They believe a plea deal and testimonies from two former bankers at a subsequent trial give them evidence of the bank’s culpability, the sources said.
Prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York contacted the bank in February and laid out their initial case against it, the second source said.
The prosecutor’s view on the bank’s culpability and the latest contact between prosecutors and the bank have not been previously reported.
It is not clear whether prosecutors will file any charges against the bank. The second source said talks between prosecutors and Credit Suisse could go on for as long as a year and the bank, which disputes that testimonies from its former bankers proved its guilt, may fight any charges in court.
The case stems from loans Credit Suisse helped arrange between 2013 and 2016 to develop Mozambique’s coastal defences, shipping fleet and tuna fishing industry.
The three former Credit
Suisse bankers, along with two middlemen and three Mozambican government officials, were charged in 2018 for money laundering and defrauding U.S. investors who had invested in the loans.
U.S. prosecutors said at least $200 million of the loans had been diverted to the eight defendants.
The former bankers pleaded guilty last year.
The bank earned $24 million in fees on the loans, but is still waiting for Mozambique to repay a $270 million portion of the loan, one of the sources said. – REUTERS.