Four bankers who helped a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin move funds into Swiss banks have been convicted.
Huge fines were handed to the former executives at the Zurich branch of Russia’s Gazprombank.
They were found guilty of lacking due diligence after helping musician Sergei Roldugin deposit tens of millions of pounds.
Roldugin, known as ‘Putin’s wallet’, reportedly deposited around £24million between 2014 and 2016, and have no credible story for where the money originated from.
Swiss law states that banks must reject or close accounts if they have doubts about an account holder’s source of funds.
Roldugin is a cellist and godfather to Putin’s eldest daughter, Maria.
Putin has also awarded his friend the Order of Alexander Nevsky, an order of merit given out by the Russian Federation.
Three of the bankers that were convicted for helping Roldugin were Russian, one was Swiss.
The fines they received totalled £655,000, and they have been suspended for two years.
Swiss reporting restrictions mean that the bankers involved cannot be named. They have said they will appeal the decision.
The Zurich court could not prove the four had doubts over the Russian musician’s cash. But the verdict says they should have, and failed to act.
Putin’s financial relationship with Rodulgin was uncovered in 2016 when the Panama Papers investigation was unveiled.
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