Swiss court fines bank employees over Putin-linked musician's accounts
After the Russian aggression against Ukraine, many close friends of Vladimir Putin found themselves on sanction lists. Among them is the Russian musician Sergei Roldugin. A Swiss court examined his bank accounts. "Even in St. Petersburg you cannot make that much money in a hurry," the judge stated.
Swiss bank employees are obligated to thoroughly check their partners. The oversight failed in the case of Russian musician Sergei Roldugin, who is on the sanction list as a close friend of Putin. Four bank employees were in the dock.
A Swiss appeals court found them guilty of managing funds related to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Employees of the Swiss subsidiary of the defunct Russian Gazprombank did not verify whether the money in the Russian musician's accounts belonged to him. According to n-tv.de, the court imposed conditional fines of approximately CAD 492,000 on the bank employees.
According to the court's findings, two accounts were opened at Gazprombank in Zurich in 2014, with Roldugin as the owner. Media reports indicate that the cellist and conductor is also the godfather of one of Putin's daughters, although he is more widely known in Moscow as "Putin's wallet."
Two out of three judges voted for the guilty verdict. They determined that the defendants deliberately did not verify who the actual beneficiary of the accounts was, which were funded by dividends from a Russian media company.
Did the money in Roldugin's account not belong to him?
The Swiss court did not believe that the money in the account belonged to Roldugin. — Judging by the dividend payout, Roldugin's shares in the media company must have been worth over approximately $149 million CAD — the head judge stated. He added that until 2016, Roldugin was not widely known.
Even in St. Petersburg you cannot make that much money in a hurry. Explanations or verification would be useful, — the court stated.
The question in this case is not whose funds were involved and whether they came from illegal sources but whether the required explanations were provided. Banks in Switzerland are obligated to refuse or terminate business relations if there are significant doubts about the counterparty's identity.
The bank employees denied the charges and demanded acquittal. They insist there was no reason to doubt Roldugin's economic credibility. The defendants’ spokesperson stated that after reviewing the written justification of the verdict, they would decide whether to appeal. The next instance is the Federal Court, the highest court in Switzerland.
