UBS AG has won dismissal of money-laundering charges inherited from Credit Suisse over the long-running Mozambique tuna-bond scandal after a Swiss court found criminal liability could not be transferred after the bank’s 2023 takeover of its former rival, Bloomberg said on Friday. 

Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court ruled on April 8 that UBS could not be held liable for alleged wrongdoing tied to the affair because the conduct predated the government-brokered rescue of Credit Suisse. In a statement, the court said that transferring criminal liability to UBS, along with a conviction and fine, would violate the principle of culpability and run counter to both the Swiss constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. 

The decision marks the latest turn in a scandal that has shadowed Credit Suisse for years. In October 2023, UBS reached a separate settlement with Mozambique over Credit Suisse’s role in the affair, bringing to a close a London case that began roughly a decade earlier when Credit Suisse financed the creation of a coastal patrol force and tuna-fishing fleet for Mozambique, according to Bloomberg.

Credit Suisse had already agreed in 2021 to pay nearly $475 million to resolve multiple investigations worldwide into its role in the scandal. Mozambique had alleged the bank ignored warning signs and corruption involving its own bankers in transactions linked to about $2 billion in bond deals, Bloomberg reported.

Swiss prosecutors, however, continued to pursue a separate domestic case. That effort culminated in a December indictment accusing the bank of failing to prevent suspected money laundering tied to service fees connected to the loans. Under Swiss law, companies can face criminal charges for failing to prevent crimes such as money laundering, a provision prosecutors have used increasingly in recent years, Bloomberg said.

But the case against a former Credit Suisse compliance officer will continue, the court said. Prosecutors alleged the individual knew that “running fees” paid from Mozambique into Credit Suisse accounts could be linked to likely bribes, but chose to end the business relationship instead of filing a suspicious activity report with Switzerland’s Money Laundering Reporting Office. 

Read more at Bloomberg