Investigation into US sanctions puts Credit Suisse and UBS in the spotlight

Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS are reportedly among those being investigated by the US Justice Department relating to alleged sanctions breaches in the country involving Russian oligarchs. This follows a wave of subpoenas, including to banks’ staff, seeking to understand how clients under sanctions were handled and what client background checks had been undertaken in recent years. The banks have declined to comment. Credit Suisse formerly served wealthy Russian clients, managing more than $60bn for them, generating between $500m and $600m a year in revenue for the bank. Last year, the US created the KleptoCapture task force to enforce sanctions on wealthy Russians who are political allies of President Vladimir Putin.

In recent years, a number of wealthy individuals and businesses with connects to Russia have had assets seized, including jets, yachts and luxury properties. Some people have been charged with aiding wealthy Russians to hide assets illegally. The US government takes breaches in sanctions seriously, with banks facing hefty fines if found to have breached them. In late 2014, BNP Paribas paid almost $9bn to US authorities to settle charges that accused it of processing illegal transactions carried out on behalf of Iranian, Cuban and Sudanese organisations that were under sanctions. Meanwhile, in 2019, Standard Chartered agreed to pay over $1bn as part of a DoJ probe that a former bank employee was involved in conspiring to breach Iranian sanctions.