Credit Suisse uncovers client fraud at wealth management

Bloomberg

Credit Suisse Group AG has discovered fraud at its international wealth management business, two years after it was criticized by a regulator in a similar case that rattled the bank and raised questions about controls.
The Swiss lender dismissed a Zurich-based banker who forged documentation on an over-the-counter contract for an African wealth management client, according to people familiar with the matter. The deception, uncovered earlier this year, led to a loss of about $11 million for the bank and also hurt other clients.
The latest scandal follows a restructuring of the risk function at Credit Suisse as chief executive officer Thomas Gottstein seeks to bolster oversight. The bank’s reputation has taken a hit in recent months after a damaging spying scandal and its involvement in deals linked to failed fir,ms including Luckin Coffee Ltd. and Wirecard AG.
“Credit Suisse confirms a case from first quarter of 2020 in which a small number of clients were affected by unauthorised actions of a client adviser,” the bank said. “Credit Suisse took appropriate legal measures and informed the affected clients and relevant regulators.”
The fraud and losses were booked in unit led by Raj Sehgal, which serves the non-resident Indian community and sub-Saharan Africa. Clients are in the process of being compensated.
Sehgal was named head of the Africa and non-resident Indian business with a direct reporting line to ex-divisional chief Iqbal Khan two years ago. He’s now chairman of that business after a shakeup that saw his region merged into the Middle East unit led by Bruno Daher. International wealth management which caters to Credit Suisse’s wealthy clients outside of Switzerland and Asia, reported provisions for credit losses of 74 million francs in the first six months.
The most recent fraud echoes a much bigger case when Patrice Lescaudron, a former star private banker, was sentenced to prison after he forged documents to cover mounting client losses.

Lescaudron’s activity went undetected by Credit Suisse and his clients for years until a massive wrong-way bet on a Californian drugmaker in 2015 exposed his behavior. Switzerland’s financial regulator later identified deficiencies in the bank’s anti-money laundering controls and shortcomings in its oversight.