Swiss Court Upholds Guilty Verdict for Bankers Tied to Putin Associate

Four bankers, previously working for Gazprombank (Switzerland), have had their appeal against financial due diligence convictions rejected by Switzerland's highest court. The court found they failed to verify the ownership of accounts linked to Sergey Roldugin, an associate of Russian President Putin. They received suspended fines totaling over 450,000 Swiss francs.

Four former bankers have lost an appeal against their convictions for failing to perform due diligence at Gazprombank (Switzerland), a verdict upheld by Switzerland's highest court according to sources with knowledge of the ruling.

The bankers, whose identities remain protected under Swiss law, were found guilty by Zurich's District Court in 2023 for not verifying whether funds in accounts opened by concert cellist Sergey Roldugin belonged to him. They were handed suspended fines exceeding 450,000 Swiss francs.

The court suspected Roldugin acted as a strawman to conceal the real ownership of the funds, with the Kremlin rubbishing links to Putin as "Putinophobia". Despite appeal failures, the matter highlights ongoing scrutiny of financial activities involving associates of high-profile figures.