Credit Suisse has fined $ 475 million for dismal Mozambique loans that were issued for “kickbacks”

Credit Suisse has been fined $ 475 million and has agreed to cancel a $ 200 million debt on a loan to Mozambique misused on kickbacks and fighter jets.

Swiss, British and US regulators completed their long-standing investigation on Tuesday (October 19) into a $ 1 billion loan to Mozambique in 2013 in which Credit Suisse “seriously violated anti-money laundering laws.” ” would have.

“Several hundred million” could have been misused, said FINMA, the Swiss regular customer, in a press release. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said that around $ 200 million had been distributed as “kickbacks”.

Of this, $ 8 million was to be paid to an advisor to the Mozambican government. Credit Suisse has terminated the agreement with this “undesirable customer”, but has not reported any suspicions that “seriously violate the reporting obligations of the AMLA (Money Laundering Act)”, according to FINMA.

Another contractor commissioned by Credit Suisse has been called the “master of kickbacks” according to the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Around $ 50 million was passed on to Credit Suisse bankers, including two managing directors, who helped secure loans on more favorable terms.

Three former employees of the bank who were involved in the financing pleaded guilty, including Andrew Pearse, a former managing director of Credit Suisse in London, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire transfer fraud.

The investigation is the latest in the long-running saga that virtually bankrupted Mozambique. Since 2013, Credit Suisse and the Russian VTB Group have granted Mozambique several loans, which at the time made up around 6% of the country’s GDP.