4 Swiss bankers found guilty of helping Putin’s friend

Former managers of Gazprombank’s Zurich branch in Russia were heavily fined for helping musician Sergei Roldugin, nicknamed “Putin’s wallet.”

Roldugin reportedly did not provide a credible explanation for the origin of the nearly $30 million he paid to banks in Switzerland between 2014 and 2016.

According to BBC news, 3 Russian and 1 Swiss bankers, responsible for the incident, were fined 741 thousand Swiss francs, which was suspended for 2 years in total. The prosecution wanted 7 months in prison for the defendants. Four bankers, whose identities have not been revealed, were said to appeal the decision.

The court was said to have ruled that the defendants could not prove whether they were suspicious of the situation when the Russian musician asked the bank for millions of dollars and, on the other hand, did not act on suspicion.

The judge said that there was no doubt that Roldugin was not the true owner of the money he had deposited.

Under Swiss law, banks are obliged to reject or close accounts if they have doubts about the account holder or the origin of the money. (AA)