Investigation claims Credit Suisse handled dirty money

Credit Suisse has issued a vigorous denial of the allegations

Credit Suisse has issued a vigorous denial of the allegations

Credit Suisse handled billions of dollars in dirty money for decades, an international media investigation based on a massive data leak claimed on Sunday, in the latest setback for Switzerland's second-largest bank.

The bank held more than $8 billion (seven billion euros) in accounts of criminals, dictators and human rights abusers, among others, according to the investigation by a group comprising dozens of media organisations.

According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a non-profit journalism group, the "Suisse Secrets" investigation began when an anonymous source shared bank data with German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung more than a year ago.

Accounts identified as problematic held over $8 billion in assets, the investigation found.

It was the largest leak ever from a major Swiss bank, OCCRP said.

The leak included information on more than 18,000 bank accounts, many of which "remained open well into the 2010s", said the OCCRP.

"The matters presented are predominantly historical, in some cases dating back as far as the 1940s, and the accounts of these matters based on partial, inaccurate, or selective information taken out of context, resulting in tendentious interpretations of the bank's business conduct."

The OCCRP, in a statement on its website, said: "We believe the dozens of examples we have cited raise serious questions about Credit Suisse's effectiveness and commitment to meeting its responsibilities."

Among those listed as holding accounts with Credit Suisse were the sons of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II.

"I've too often seen criminals and corrupt politicians who can afford to keep on doing business as usual, no matter what the circumstances, because they have the certainty that their ill-gotten gains will be kept safe and always within their reach," said OCCRP co-founder Paul Radu in a statement.

The international investigation is the latest in a series of setbacks that Credit Suisse has suffered recently.

And in Switzerland, a former Credit Suisse employee is among the defendants in a major corruption trial that has just started and involves alleged money laundering and organised crime in Bulgaria. The bank has said it will "defend itself vigorously in court".

A Swiss media group was unable to participate in the investigation due to the risk of criminal prosecution, the organisation said. 

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