of a large Venezuelan client in 2014 without the
required investigations, even though the bank
had learnt in the same year that the client was
facing accusations of corruption,” it added.
FINMA said it was appointing an independent
auditor to monitor internal reforms.
“Until it is once again fully compliant with the
law, the bank is prohibited from conducting
transactions such as major acquisitions that
lead to a significant increase in operating risks
(including but not limited to money laundering
risk) or in its organisational complexity,” it said.
The authority has been involved in crackdowns
on a number of corruption and money-
laundering cases in recent years, also including
Brazilian oil giant Petrobras and Malaysian
sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. It did not offer
details about alleged corruption or money
laundering involving Julius Baer at FIFA, the
Zurich-based world soccer body.