Morgan Stanley’s Swiss unit was fined 1 million Swiss francs ($1.1 million) for failing to prevent the laundering of millions of dollars by one of its former bankers in a Greek kickback scheme tied to arms sales.
Morgan Stanley (Switzerland) GmbH “did not take all necessary and reasonable organizational measures when conducting its business activity” to stop the banker from laundering millions of francs between 1999 and 2012, the Swiss Attorney General’s Office said in a statement on Thursday.
The ex-banker, who cannot be named under Swiss reporting restrictions, was convicted in 2019 for laundering funds that came from a former Greek defense minister’s scheme to siphon off millions of euros from contracts to buy missile systems and submarines for the Greek armed forces.
Morgan Stanley waived its right to oppose the Swiss summary penalty order in return for paying the fine plus legal fees, according to the statement, bringing the prosecutors’ investigation to a close.
Separately, Morgan Stanley is