Swiss department fines former Credit Suisse chair Urs Rohner

Switzerland’s Federal Department of Finance has fined former Credit Suisse chairman Urs Rohner for giving false information to the financial regulator, according to SRF. The department imposed a fine of 24,840 francs and a suspended penalty of 144 daily rates of 690 francs in a ruling that is not yet legally binding.

The case concerns the bank’s surveillance scandal, which became public in 2019. Credit Suisse had arranged surveillance of current and former employees, including Iqbal Khan, then head of its international wealth management business.

The department said Rohner, who chaired the bank’s board from 2011 to 2021, signed a response to the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, known as FINMA, on October 25, 2019. The bank described Khan’s surveillance as an isolated incident and, citing an investigation by law firm Homburger, disclosed two other cases. It did not mention that a planned operation involved the former husband of the partner of then chief executive Tidjane Thiam.

A subsequent FINMA investigation found that seven surveillance operations had been planned or carried out at the bank between 2016 and 2019, with external companies involved in four cases. The department also said the bank did not tell FINMA that a former senior manager had complained to Rohner about Thiam and raised suspicions of surveillance.

The department found no evidence that Rohner had specific knowledge of the other planned or completed operations. But it said there were enough indications to point to further surveillance, including a security company’s invoice of about 150,000 francs for monitoring Khan. The invoice included costs for another operation. Rohner questioned the amount in an email but did not check it further, the ruling said.

The department accused Rohner of acting deliberately in two cases, including by concealing the connection between Thiam and the planned surveillance of his partner’s former husband. It said the conduct of a chairman of a systemically important bank could not be excused given the potential reputational damage to the bank and the financial market.

Monika Roth, an expert in financial market law and compliance who reviewed the ruling for SRF Investigativ, said Rohner had worked carelessly and superficially. The offense carries a possible prison sentence of up to three years.