Zurich Prosecutors Probe Second Complaint About Ex-Baer CEO
Zurich Prosecutors Probing Second Complaint About Ex-Baer CEO
(Bloomberg) -- Zurich public prosecutors received a second email in just over a month alleging wrongdoing by former Julius Baer Group Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Boris Collardi during his tenure as head of the wealth manager.
The prosecutor’s office received an anonymous email last week about alleged misconduct related to money-laundering, a spokesman for the prosecutor said by email, declining to give further details. It follows a complaint made in June that also alleged wrongdoing by Collardi and other former managers of the bank.
“Preliminary clarifications as to whether an initial suspicion of criminal misconduct exists” are still ongoing, a spokesman said. Both complaints are being examined to see if there are grounds for a formal probe.
“This is a third party matter, which we cannot comment on,” a spokeswoman for Julius Baer said. A spokesman for Collardi did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Pictet & Cie., where Collardi is now co-head of wealth management, declined to comment.
Peter Nobel, Collardi’s lawyer, told Le Temps on June 20 that the prosecutor would not open an investigation, even a preliminary procedure, into the first email it received.
Switzerland’s financial regulator Finma last month opened enforcement proceedings against Baer over an Argentine entrepreneur suspected of processing tens of millions of dollars through fraudulent shell companies. The bank also received a reprimand in February from the financial regulator for falling “significantly short in combating money laundering” and a ban from acquiring new companies.
The second tip was first reported by Swiss blog Inside Paradeplatz.
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