BERLIN (AP) — A German newspaper and other media said on Sunday that a data leak from Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-largest bank, revealed account details for more than 30,000 customers — some of them unsavory. – and indicated possible failures of due diligence in the controls of many customers.
Credit Suisse said in a statement that it “strongly rejects the allegations and insinuations regarding the bank’s alleged business practices.”
German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung said it received the data anonymously via a secure digital mailbox more than a year ago. He said it was unclear whether the source was an individual or a group, and the newspaper made no payment or promise.
The newspaper said it assessed the data, which ranged from the 1940s through the past decade, as well as the Organized Crime and Corruption Report Project and dozens of media partners, including The New York Times and The Guardian.
He said the data indicates the bank accepted “corrupt autocrats, suspected war criminals and human traffickers, drug dealers and other criminals” as clients.
Credit Suisse said the allegations are “primarily historical” and that “accounts of these cases are based on partial, inaccurate, or selective information taken out of context, resulting in biased interpretations of the company’s business conduct.” Bank”.
The bank said it had reviewed a large number of accounts potentially associated with the allegations, and about 90% of them “are now closed or were in the process of being closed before receiving press inquiries, of which more than 60% have been closed before”. 2015. “
Regarding accounts that remain active, the bank said it was “comfortable that appropriate due diligence, reviews and other control-related actions were taken in accordance with our current framework.” The bank also said the law bars it from commenting on “potential customer relationships.”
Switzerland has in recent years sought to shed its image as a haven for tax evasion, money laundering and embezzlement of public funds, practices carried out through the misuse of its bank secrecy policies. But these laws still arouse criticism.
The Sueddeutsche Zeitung published an excerpt from a statement from the source of the leak.
“I believe Swiss banking secrecy laws are immoral,” he said. “The financial privacy pretext is just a fig leaf covering the shameful role of Swiss banks as collaborators of tax evaders.”