Switzerland’s financial regulator said it had conducted an audit of 12 banks and initiated proceedings against two of them in connection with corruption charges against Central Bank of Lebanon Governor Riad Salameh.
On Thursday, the Lebanese authorities accused Riad Salameh, his brother Raja, and his assistant of money laundering, embezzlement and illegal enrichment, after months of delay in the important case.
The Salameh brothers have denied from the outset any wrongdoing. The central bank governor maintained his innocence, said the charges did not constitute an indictment, and pledged to abide by judicial procedures.
The charges follow an 18-month investigation by Lebanon into whether Salameh and his brother Raja illegally obtained more than $300 million from the central bank between 2002 and 2015.
Swiss financial market watchdog FINMA said Monday it had conducted an audit of 12 banks in connection with money laundering charges linked to the case.
“In the Lebanese context, FINMA conducted audits of about a dozen banks… and initiated law enforcement actions in two cases,” a spokesman for the authority said.
FINMA takes law enforcement action when it discovers failures in a bank and works to determine what went wrong and actions to prevent future breaches of money laundering regulations.
In serious cases, FINMA can impose measures on banks and also refer matters to Swiss federal prosecutors if it suspects criminal wrongdoing.
Finamah declined to comment on the nature of the proceedings in this case or to identify the banks involved.
- The Swiss newspaper Sonntag Zeitung referred to allegations that the Salama brothers had transferred $330 million into Swiss accounts through Fore Associates, registered in the British Virgin Islands.
- She added that large sums of money were spent on buying real estate in several European Union countries.
- The newspaper said that about $250 million entered Raja Salameh’s personal account at the HSBC Bank branch in Geneva. It added that other sums had been deposited in UBS, Credit Suisse, Julius Baer, EFG and Pictet.
- A spokeswoman for Pictet said the bank is not aware of any action taken against it or its employees in connection with this matter.
EFG said it could not comment on individual clients and added that it has “very strict qualification and anti-money laundering procedures in place that comply with all relevant rules and regulations”.
Swiss accountability Now filed complaints with FINMA against Bank Audi, BankMed, HSBC and Julius Baer over allegations of financial crime by Salameh.