A Russian oligarch has sued Credit Suisse for 500 million francs, after claiming he lost money due to the actions of one of their financial advisors. The Swiss bank denied the allegations.
According to SonntagsZeitung, Monaco-based Russian millionaire Vitaly Malkin has asked a US law firm to represent him in a legal dispute with Credit Suisse. The oligarch has demanded compensation from the international company due to losses allegedly caused by one of their financial advisors.
The advisor in question, who must remain anonymous due to legal reasons, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2018 for embezzling client funds. One of the clients affected, it is claimed, was Malkin. The advisor committed suicide two years after being convicted.
Malkin is an entrepreneur and previous business partner of the former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, who himself won compensation from the bank due to the advisor's actions. The losses accrued had nothing to do with sanctions imposed on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, and Malkin is currently not named in European, American or Swiss sanctions against the country.
Credit Suisse announced that it will be challenging the decision in Ivanishvili's case and will fight Malkin’s case in court. Responding to the allegations, the bank said in a statement that investigations by the Swiss police found that the advisor acted alone and that the bank itself was one of the primary “victims” in the whole affair.