Investigators from Switzerland's Public Ministry of the Confederation searched the premises of the Geneva private bank Pictet in mid-March, according to multiple media reports over the last 24 hours.
This search is linked to the Petrobras affair, named after the criminal probe into activities of the Brazilian state-run oil firm between 2013 and 2014 involving dozens of Swiss banks.
In December 2021, the PMC opened criminal proceedings against Banque Pictet, against a person whose identity has not been revealed and against unknown persons, for suspicion of complicity in the corruption of public officials and aggravated money laundering.
Reuters quoted an emailed statement from federal prosecutors: "The (Office of the Attorney General) OAG confirms that in mid-March it carried out a search of a banking institution in Geneva. This search took place in the context of ongoing criminal proceedings, linked to the Petrobras investigation complex, which were opened in December 2021."
Swiss newspaper le Temps reported on the raid on 30 March citing Pictet's response that it had already investigated internally in 2014 and settled the case the following year with FINMA.
