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Julius Baer has been instructed to pay more than SFR4MN by the financial regulator of Switzerland about anti-money laundering practices and compliance with compliance with risky customers.
The enforcement decision, included in a document from November 2024 and seen by the Financial Times, was not publicly announced.
The decision was aimed at the failure of Julius Baer, the second largest listed lender of Switzerland after UBS, to detect or act between suspect transactions between 2009 and 2019, according to the decision of the Swiss Financial Market Authority (Finma) that was seen by the FT.
The enforcement campaign is the newest blow to scandal hit Julius Baer, who tries a change. It comes after the Private Bank was forced to write down its complete exposure to SFR606MN to now composing Austrian ownership groups, which activates a leadership overhaul.
In her decision of November, the supervisor discovered that Julius Baer had committed a “serious violation” of rules, referring to the bank’s obligations to combat money laundering.
It ordered the bank to repay SFR3MN in illegally earned profit, which “would be taken … For the Swiss Confederation”, according to the document. The bank was also instructed to pay SFR1.3MN in costs.
According to the document, the Finma investigation related to issues with regard to a cluster of the customer where a Russian banker is suspected by the authorities of Moscow for embezzlement. Another cluster, which was concerned about whistleblower reports, was linked to various Indian subjects that were mainly served by the “non-resident Indian” team of the bank in Dubai, as well as from Zurich and Singapore.
Finma discovered that the bank had continued to manage the accounts of the Russian banker, despite red flags, including legal proceedings against him and questions about the source of his wealth. Julius Baer was unable to identify these risks and respond adequately, said the watchdog.
The regulator also emphasized problems at booking locations, including the Monaco and Singapore locations.
The decision is independent of the enforcement procedures that the regulator unveiled in February about the losses of Julius Baer with regard to Signa, the ownership empire owned by the Austrian Tycoon René Benko that registered average debts in 2023 in 2023 in 2023.
Finma previously punished Julius Baer for the “considerable shortage” his obligations to combat money laundering and has the appropriate risk management policy. In 2020, it forbade the bank to carry out large acquisitions about shortcomings in connection with cases of alleged corruption between 2009 and 2018, coupled to the state ownership of Energy Group Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and the international administrative body FIFA of football and football.
The bank has overhauled its leadership, in which former Goldman Sachs Banker Stefan Bollinger participated as Chief Executive and launched an aggressive cost -saving program, Jobs Bijlat, the board of directors and refines the bank’s strategy. Former HSBC boss Noel Quinn took over this month as chairman.
The latest enforcement decision will probably add pressure to the risk management processes of Julius Baer. The bank said earlier that it started with the revision of its systems and continued to be committed to complying with the compliance standards.
After pressure from shareholders and regulators, it said last year that it would close its private debt activities, which was increasingly exposed to Signa.
Julius Baer refused to comment.
Finma said it “does not comment on his supervisory activities or individual matters or on possible investigation or procedures”.