Credit Suisse has been found guilty by Switzerland's top criminal court and fined for involvement in money laundering involving Bulgarian athletes and drug trafficking.
The landmark judgement makes Credit Suisse the first domestic bank to be found guilty of a corporate crime by Swiss authorities.
The Swiss Federal Criminal Court, located in the southern Swiss city of Bellinzona, imposed a CHF2m fine on the bank and ordered it to pay €18.6m in compensation to the Swiss Government.
It ruled that Credit Suisse failed to prevent a major Bulgarian criminal organization from trafficking narcotics and laundering the proceeds of these activities between July 2007 and December 2008.
In response, Credit Suisse Group said in a statement on 27 June that it had "taken note of the Swiss Federal Criminal Court's decision to impose a fine of CHF 2 million against Credit Suisse AG for certain historical organizational inadequacies (article 102 of the Swiss Criminal Code) for the period between July 2007 and December 2008.
"The investigation dates back more than 14 years. The bank will appeal the decision."
