Credit Suisse among banks reprimanded over handling of $660m Abacha accounts

Switzerland yesterday severely reprimanded Credit Suisse, the country's second biggest bank, and more than a dozen others for accepting $660 million (€733 million) of funds from the family of the former Nigerian dictator, Sani Abacha.

The decision by the Swiss Federal Banking Commission (FBC) to "name and shame" some of Switzerland's most prestigious banks follows a 10-month investigation into the way 19 Swiss banks handled accounts linked to the entourage of Mr Abacha, who is accused of stealing more than $2 billion from his country during his five-year rule.

Mr Kurt Hauri, chairman of the FBC, said the scale of the Abacha funds which had found their way into Swiss banks was "disturbing and damaging" to Switzerland's reputation. However, the FBC noted that more than half of the Abacha money flowing into Switzerland had come via the UK and over two-thirds of the Abacha money leaving Switzerland had gone to the UK and Liechtenstein.

General Abacha seized power in November 1993 and died in June 1998. Opponents were executed and the country was increasingly ostracised by the international community following evidence of widespread corruption and violations of human rights.

Billions of dollars are believed to have been siphoned off into offshore companies and bank accounts linked to the dictator's family. Credit Suisse, which had the biggest exposure of any Swiss bank, blocked its Abacha-related accounts in March 1999.

Credit Suisse stressed that it had taken internal measures years ago to "ensure that no similar case can occur in future". It noted that the Abacha money was discovered and reported to the banking commission by Credit Suisse Private Banking's internal monitoring services.

The FBC found that only five of the 19 banks investigated had fully complied with their obligations to exercise due diligence in vetting new customers. Another eight banks were reprimanded for "violations and organisational shortcomings". A third group was found to have violations and organisational shortcomings serious enough for the FBC to order counter-measures on the "personnel and organisational level".