The Zurich public prosecutor’s office has accused the former CEO of the Swiss bank Raiffeisen Pierin Vincenz of fraud, embezzlement and bribery following a two-year criminal investigation.
In a statement on Tuesday, the district attorney general said he has closed the criminal investigation and is bringing charges against nine people, including Vincenz as well as the former head of the credit card company Aduno. The main defendants are accused of commercial fraud, embezzlement, forgery and corruption against Aduno and Raiffeisen.
In February 2018, Zurich prosecutors opened criminal proceedings against Vincenz and several others for alleged misconduct. Vincenz was accused of enriching himself illegally by personally investing in two Raiffeisen subsidiaries, Aduno and Investnet. The Raiffeisen bank has also joined the criminal investigation as a plaintiff.
Vincenz was taken into custody while the Zurich prosecutor gathered evidence. He was finally released after 15 weeks behind bars.
Vincenz led Raiffeisen from 1999 to 2015 during a period of expansion. Raiffeisen is the third largest Swiss banking group after UBS and Credit Suisse and one of four banks that the Swiss financial regulator considers « too big to fail ».