The Republic of Moldova was included in the list of states with a major risk of money laundering by the largest bank in Switzerland, UBS. Strict restrictions have been imposed on Credit Suisse bankers, including a ban on attracting new clients from countries with a high risk of money laundering and corruption. The list also includes countries such as Russia, Libya, Sudan, and Venezuela, notes the Financial Times.
UBS executives have drawn up a list of nearly two dozen “red lines” that prohibit Credit Suisse staff from a range of activities from the first day the two banks are combined, according to people with knowledge of the measures.
Prohibited activities include taking on clients from countries such as Libya, Russia, Sudan, and Venezuela and launching new products without approval from UBS managers.
Ukrainian politicians and state-owned enterprises will also be blocked to prevent potential money laundering.
“We are worried about ‘cultural contamination’,” UBS chair Colm Kelleher said last month overtaking Credit Suisse staff. “We are going to have an incredibly high bar for who we bring into UBS.”
The prohibitions, written by UBS’s compliance department, are designed to reduce the risks involved in the transaction, which was orchestrated by Swiss authorities three months ago to save Credit Suisse from collapse.
As a banker to some of the world’s richest people, Credit Suisse has long provided loans to fund billionaires’ private jet purchases, while it has also engaged in yacht finance.
Last year, Credit Suisse asked hedge funds and other investors to destroy documents relating to its richest clients’ yachts and private jets following revelations in the Financial Times of a securitization deal involving loans it made to oligarchs who were later sanctioned.
Credit Suisse staff were sent a company-wide memo on Thursday, telling them to expect new “red lines” on the day the deal closed, though details of the rules were not included.
UBS and Credit Suisse declined to comment on the rules.
Separately, Swiss parliamentarians on Thursday voted to empower a special parliamentary commission of inquiry into the downfall of Credit Suisse.