The US Department of Justice has intensified its investigation into the Swiss banks Credit Suisse Group and UBS Group AG in connection with suspicions of non-compliance with the requirements that allowed Russian clients to avoid sanctions.
According to Bloomberg sources, the investigation is still in its early stages and may not lead to charges or a settlement.
The Justice Department has requested information about how the banks handled the accounts of sanctioned customers over the past several years, but has not yet sought testimony from executives or employees.
According to another source, the investigation covers both restrictions imposed after Russiaʼs invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and previous sanctions imposed after the seizure of Crimea in 2014. Over the past decade, more than a thousand wealthy Russians have been blacklisted by the United States.
US officials are frustrated that Switzerland is not doing enough to enforce sanctions against Russia and fight money laundering.
The US also points to Switzerlandʼs refusal to join a multilateral task force pursuing illicit Russian assets.
The sanctions probe comes amid growing attention in Washington on Switzerlandʼs role in facilitating the outflow of "dirty money" from Russia.
Why Switzerland is important on the issue of sanctions
The Swiss Bankers Association estimates that banks held more than $200 billion in Russian wealth as of March 2022. By the end of last year, Switzerland said it had frozen only about 7.5 billion Swiss francs ($8.4 billion) in Russian assets.
Before the invasion of Ukraine, Credit Suisse served wealthy Russians, managing their assets worth more than $60 billion at its peak. At the time of the February 2022 incursion, that figure had fallen to $33bn, still 50% more than UBS, despite the latterʼs larger asset management business.
- In the past, US investigations into sanctions violations have resulted in large fines. In 2014, BNP Paribas SA pleaded guilty to violating US sanctions against Sudan and agreed to pay $8.97 billion.