A former relationship manager at Pictet Bank is convicted of aggravated money laundering.

It has been reported [Bern, 17.06.2025]  that ……

Banque Pictet et Cie SA and one of its former relationship managers were convicted by summary penalty order.

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has issued a summary penalty order against a former relationship manager at Banque Pictet et Cie SA (Pictet Bank), sentencing him to a six-month suspended custodial sentence for acts of aggravated money laundering. Pictet Bank was sentenced to a fine of CHF 2 million for failing to take all reasonable and necessary measures to prevent these acts from being committed.

The criminal investigation established that between June 2010 and May 2013, funds totalling more than USD 4.1 million originating from corrupt payments were transferred from the account of a Brazilian public official at Pictet Bank to conceal their criminal origin.

This conviction comes as part of a series of proceedings initiated by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) about the international corruption case known as “Lava Jato”, which has its epicentre in Brazil.

This case also had repercussions in Switzerland, involving the state-owned oil company Petrobras.

In this context, in December 2021, the OAG initiated a criminal investigation against Pictet Bank, one of its former relationship managers and unknown perpetrators on suspicion of complicity in bribery of foreign public officials (Art. 25 and Art. 322 of the Swiss Criminal Code (SCC)) and aggravated money laundering (Art. 305bis sections 1 and 2 SCC) in connection with Art—102 para. 2 SCC.

In a summary penalty order dated 17 June 2025, the OAG found a former relationship manager within Pictet Bank’s Wealth Management division and, since January 2013, head of the Brazilian market, guilty of aggravated money laundering (Art. 305bis sections 1 and 2 SCC).

He was sentenced to a six-month suspended custodial sentence with a two-year probation period.

This sentence considers the time elapsed since the offence was committed, the accused’s cooperation during the proceedings and his circumstances. Pictet Bank was found guilty of violating Art. 102 para. 2 SCC about the offence of aggravated money laundering (Art. 305bis sections 1 and 2 SCC) and was sentenced to a fine of CHF 2 million.

This amount also considers the time elapsed since the offence was committed, Pictet Bank's excellent cooperation in the proceedings, and the corrective measures taken within the bank, including organisational measures, after the Petrobras case came to light.

Aggravated money laundering related to corrupt payments

The investigation established that between June 2010 and May 2013, the former Pictet Bank relationship manager approved, in the course of his professional activities, the execution of 54 transfers to accounts in Switzerland and abroad, totaling more than USD 4.1 million, debited from an account held at Pictet Bank in the name of an offshore company and whose beneficial owner was a Petrobras employee.

The debited assets originated from corrupt payments made to the latter by an intermediary acting on behalf of the Dutch group SBM Offshore about contracts with Petrobras for the chartering and operating oil rigs.

To channel the corrupt payments, the intermediary had used Swiss bank accounts in the names of offshore companies, one of which was held at Pictet Bank. By their nature and the circumstances in which they took place, the 54 transfers, as mentioned above, concealed the assets' criminal origin.

The former Pictet Bank relationship manager thus acted in a manner conducive to hindering the identification and confiscation of assets stemming from the bribery of foreign public officials (Art. 322 SCC). Seeing that he had acted for over three years and was involved in more than USD 4.1 million, he was found guilty of aggravated money laundering under Art. 305bis sections 1 and 2 SCC.

Corporate criminal liability

The investigation established that the aggravated money laundering was made possible by organisational shortcomings at Pictet Bank.

These shortcomings manifested in the failure to classify the accounts held by the Brazilian public official and the intermediary as high risk and in the inability to monitor the 54 transfers mentioned above. These breaches of the anti-money laundering rules applicable at the time undermined the integrity of the Swiss financial industry. Pictet Bank was, therefore, found guilty of violating Art. 102 para. 2 SCC regarding the offence of aggravated money laundering.

Partial abandonment of proceedings

As the investigation did not establish that the former relationship manager had intentionally assisted in the execution of the corrupt payments under investigation, the criminal proceedings against him and Pictet Bank for suspected complicity in bribery of foreign public officials (Art. 25 and Art. 322 SCC in conjunction with Art. 102 para. 2 SCC) were abandoned (Art. 319 para. 1 let. b of the Swiss Criminal Procedure Code).

Entry into force

The former relationship manager and Pictet Bank have declared that they will not appeal the summary penalty and partial abandonment of the proceedings order.

The order is therefore final and can be consulted or obtained in anonymous form, subject to the usual conditions, upon request to the OAG’s Legal Service (rechtsdienst@ba.admin.ch).

Source

https://www.news.admin.ch/en/newnsb/b4DdjtnkrO_kTQoINULz7

The original text of the press release is in French.

https://fincrimecentral.com/pictet-bank-money-laundering-petrobras-case/