UBS acquitted on appeal in Credit Suisse cocaine trial [Video]

Swiss banking giant UBS, which took over its rival Credit Suisse last year, has been acquitted on appeal in a high-profile money laundering trial, Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court said Wednesday.

A pillar of Swiss banking and the second-largest Swiss bank at the time, Credit Suisse in 2022 was slapped with a $2 million fine in a money laundering case linked to a Bulgarian cocaine network.

The court ruled that the bank had failed to take steps to prevent money laundering by the criminal organisation, deeming it guilty of breaching its corporate responsibility in a case dating back to 2007 and 2008.

A former employee had been found guilty of aggravated money laundering over transactions she made or ordered, despite clear evidence the funds were of criminal origin.

The bank and several defendants convicted in the case had launched an appeal, but the former staff member, who was referred to by …