Ex-Georgia premier files Swiss complaint against Credit Suisse
ZURICH (Reuters) - Lawyers for former Georgia Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili have filed a Swiss criminal complaint against Credit Suisse relating to allegations of money laundering, one of the lawyers told Reuters on Wednesday.
The complaint alleges that Credit Suisse did not have the necessary controls in place, which allowed money to be laundered through its systems, the lawyer said.
Credit Suisse declined to comment on the filing, but said it was cooperating with the Geneva prosecutor.
"We can't comment on the filing and cooperate with the Geneva prosecutor," a spokeswoman for Credit Suisse said in an emailed statement.
Lawyers for Ivanishvili have alleged that fraudulent activities by a Credit Suisse client adviser lost the former Georgian leader hundreds of millions of dollars.
They allege that the adviser moved money from Ivanishvili's account to cover other losses.
These losses came to light in September when shares in a small-cap U.S. company the adviser had invested in fell sharply.
The complaint, which was filed on Tuesday, is the fourth that lawyers for Ivanishvili have filed in Switzerland in this case, but the first against Credit Suisse.
Past complaints have been against the client adviser, whose name has not been publicly released, and unknown persons for alleged fraud and hidden commissions.
The client adviser, who worked for Credit Suisse for around 10 years, has been in custody in Geneva since mid-January, the adviser's lawyer said last month.
"The former relationship manager concealed his deceptions from his colleagues and this is to the best of our knowledge an individual case," Credit Suisse said in its statement.
A lawyer for the adviser was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday, while the Geneva Public Prosecutor's office had no comment.
News of the criminal complaint was reported earlier by Bloomberg.
(Reporting by Joshua Franklin; Additional reporting by Oliver Hirt; Editing by Alexander Smith)
