Credit Suisse Leak
A massive leak from one of the world’s biggest private banks, Credit Suisse, has exposed the hidden wealth of clients involved in torture, drug trafficking, money laundering, corruption, and other serious crimes.
A whistle-blower sent the information to a German newspaper on more than 18,000 active accounts at Credit Suisse, which collectively hold more than $100 billion.
The German Daily newspaper said it received the data anonymously through a secure digital mailbox over a year ago. It said it’s unclear whether the source was an individual or a group, and the newspaper didn’t make any payment or promises.
The newspaper said it evaluated the data, which ranged from the 1940s until well into the last decade along with the Organized Crime and Corruption reporting Project and dozens of media partners including The New York Times and The Guardian.
Credit Suisse said in a statement that it “strongly rejects the allegations and insinuations about the bank’s purported business practices.”
Credit Suisse said the allegations are “predominantly historical” and that “the accounts of these matters are based on partial, inaccurate, or selective information taken out of context, resulting in tendentious interpretations of the bank’s business conduct.”
The bank said it had reviewed many accounts potentially associated with the allegations, and about 90% of them “are today closed or were in the process of closure before receipt of the press inquiries, of which over 60% were closed before 2015.”
For much of the past decade, the Zurich-based financial giant has moved from one crisis to another as it came to terms with its role in helping clients launder ill-gotten funds, shelter assets from taxation and aid in corruption.
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