- They are guilty: Four bankers at Gazprombank in Switzerland are said to have breached their duty of care.
- It is about two accounts with around 50 million francs.
- The accounts were opened for musician Sergei Roldugin. But the judges doubt that.
- The Zurich District Court imposed a conditional fine with a two-year probationary period on all four bankers.
It’s about a lot of money – a lot of money: the Russian cellist and friend of Putin Sergei Roldugin has around 50 million Swiss francs in storage at Gazprombank in Switzerland.
Explosive: Roldugin is not just any friend of Putin, but according to reports even the godfather of Putin’s daughter.
Legend:
The Gazprombank branch in Zurich: Russian assets worth CHF 50 million are said to have been stored here in two accounts.
Keystone / Ennio Leanza
This is exactly what aroused the suspicions of the Zurich investigators: a cellist and conductor with such great fortune, plus one of Putin’s intimates.
In addition, these were pure transit accounts, since dividends worth millions were transferred to Russia a few days after receipt, according to the public prosecutor.
Legend:
Gazprombank was founded in 1990 as a subsidiary of the Russian energy group Gazprom of the same name. View of a Gazprom refinery near Moscow.
Keystone/EPA/Maxim Shipenkov
The accounts were active between 2014 and 2016. They were opened at Gazprombank in Switzerland in the year of the Crimea crisis – they were closed about two years later. This was after the bank asked Roldugin to provide financial background information. Apparently, Roldugin did not follow this request.
breach of duty of care
In the eyes of the Zurich District Court, this constitutes a breach of the duty of care, since the bank ended the business relationship with the musician too late. In addition, the bank employees should have made further clarifications as soon as inconsistencies emerged.
The judges therefore have no doubt that Sergei Roldugin was not the beneficial owner of the accounts. The four suspects – including the CEO of the bank, two other members of management and a customer advisor – were fined conditionally with a probationary period of two years, between 120 daily rates of 400 francs and 180 daily rates of 3,000 francs.
If they are not guilty of anything in the next two years, they do not have to pay this fine. The judge refrained from a possible prison sentence because the four suspects all had no previous convictions.
The defense attorneys want to appeal the verdict
Nevertheless, immediately after the verdict was announced, the defense attorneys for the accused bankers announced that they would continue with the verdict.
Already during the trial at the beginning of the month, they pleaded not guilty: It is plausible that Roldugin, as a very famous musician, has this money. The bankers were right not to question the accounts.