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Swiss prosecutors say investigating UBS-Credit Suisse merger

Swiss prosecutors are investigating the UBS takeover of Credit Suisse, following pressure from authorities and media leaks. The probe aims to identify any criminal offences and ensure Switzerland’s financial centre remains “clean.”

The merger was arranged by the government to prevent a global financial meltdown after Credit Suisse’s share price collapsed due to a series of scandals.

The rescue merger is not only “the biggest transaction” since the 2008 financial crisis but also “the first time” two systemically important banks at the global level will merge.

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GENEVA, SWITZERLAND — Swiss federal prosecutors said Sunday that they had opened an inquiry into the UBS takeover of its embattled banking rival Credit Suisse, following pressure from federal authorities and media leaks.

In an email to AFP, prosecutors said they issued orders to investigate after “taking stock of the situation with all the relevant internal services” and contacting national and local authorities.

The probe will aim to ensure Switzerland’s financial centre remains “clean” and identify any criminal offences within their remit, they said.

A “surveillance system” has also been put in place that will allow prosecutors to intervene if necessary.

The prosecutors added that they wanted to “have an overall view of the many aspects” of the events relating to the near-collapse of Credit Suisse, including those reported in the media, and to “secure and assess the available information”.

“Different internal and external bodies have been mandated or contacted with the aim of clarifying and gathering information,” they added.

‘Any criminal offence’

Switzerland’s GDP relies heavily on the financial sector which employs tens of thousands of people in the alpine country.

On the weekend of March 18-19, the marriage of Switzerland’s two biggest banks was hastily arranged by the government to prevent a global financial meltdown, following fears of contagion from the collapse of three US regional banks.

Credit Suisse shares had tumbled and the second-largest bank in the country was in danger of failing, sparking fears of turmoil in markets and the financial sector worldwide.

Verbal assurances and a loan of 50 billion Swiss francs ($54.6 million) by the central bank days before the takeover were not enough to calm investor concerns.

Credit Suisse had been embroiled in a series of scandals before its share price collapsed, getting caught up in the bankruptcy of the British financial company Greensill and the implosion of the US hedge fund Archegos.

It was also embroiled in a bribery scandal in Mozambique involving loans to state-owned companies and was fined $2 million in a money laundering case linked to a Bulgarian cocaine network.

Massive risks

The scandals, a major restructuring plan that failed to convince all observers and a heavy loss in 2022 risked bankruptcy — and with it the reputation of Switzerland’s banking sector.

UBS, the country’s largest bank, agreed to absorb its troubled rival for $3.25 billion in an emergency deal supervised by the government, the Swiss central bank and the financial regulator.

Both UBS and Credit Suisse are among a select group of lenders deemed “too big to fail” due to their importance to the global banking system.

The federal state and the central bank also provided substantial financial guarantees in the event of the discovery of unpleasant surprises in the books of accounts, which UBS did not have time to examine in detail.

For UBS, which has just reappointed its former CEO Sergio Ermotti to lead this merger, the “number one priority is to stabilise the situation”.

The rescue merger is not only “the biggest transaction” since the 2008 financial crisis, it is also “the first time” that two systemically important banks at the global level will merge, said Colm Kelleher, chairman of the board of directors of UBS.

These risks and the extraordinary size of the new megabank are worrying political and economic circles in Switzerland, beyond the likelihood of thousands of job losses.

— AFP

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AFP

Singapore hangs 14th drug convict since last year

Singapore executed Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, convicted of drug trafficking, amid a resumption of executions in 2022. Another woman prisoner, Saridewi Djamani, faces execution.

Amnesty International urged Singapore to halt the executions, questioning the deterrent effect of the death penalty.

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26 July 2023

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SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE — Singapore on Wednesday hanged a local man convicted of drug trafficking, officials said, two days before the scheduled execution of the first woman prisoner in the city-state in nearly 20 years.

Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, convicted and sentenced to death in 2017 for trafficking “not less than 49.98 grams” (1.76 ounces) of heroin, was executed at Changi Prison, the Central Narcotics Bureau said in a statement.

The 57-year-old was the 14th convict sent to the gallows since the government resumed executions in March 2022 after a two-year pause during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hussain’s previous appeals against his conviction and sentence had been dismissed, and a petition for presidential clemency was also denied.

A woman drug convict, 45-year-old Saridewi Djamani, is scheduled to be hanged on Friday, according to the local rights group Transformative Justice Collective (TJC).

She was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams of heroin.

If carried out, Djamani would be the first woman executed in Singapore since 2004, when 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen was hanged for drug trafficking, according to TJC activist Kokila Annamalai.

Singapore has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws — trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis or over 15 grams of heroin can result in the death penalty.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singapore to halt the executions, saying there was no evidence the death penalty acted as a deterrent to crime.

“It is unconscionable that authorities in Singapore continue to cruelly pursue more executions in the name of drug control,” Amnesty death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement.

Singapore, however, insists that the death penalty has helped make it one of Asia’s safest countries.

Among those hanged since last year was Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, whose execution sparked a global outcry, including from the United Nations and British tycoon Richard Branson, because he was deemed to have a mental disability.

— AFP

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AFP

Singapore to execute first woman in nearly 20 years: rights groups

Singapore set to execute two drug convicts, including first woman in 20 years, despite rights groups’ calls to stop.

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25 July 2023

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SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE — Singapore is set to hang two drug convicts this week, including the first woman to be sent to the gallows in nearly 20 years, rights groups said Tuesday, while urging the executions be halted.

Local rights organisation Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) said a 56-year-old man convicted of trafficking 50 grams (1.76 ounces) of heroin is scheduled to be hanged on Wednesday at the Southeast Asian city-state’s Changi Prison.

A 45-year-old woman convict who TJC identified as Saridewi Djamani is also set to be sent to the gallows on Friday. She was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams of heroin.

If carried out, she would be the first woman to be executed in Singapore since 2004 when 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen was hanged for drug trafficking, said TJC activist Kokila Annamalai.

TJC said the two prisoners are Singaporeans and their families have received notices setting the dates of their executions.

Prison officials have not answered emailed questions from AFP seeking confirmation.

Singapore imposes the death penalty for certain crimes, including murder and some forms of kidnapping.

It also has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws: trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis and 15 grams of heroin can result in the death penalty.

At least 13 people have been hanged so far since the government resumed executions following a two-year hiatus in place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singapore to halt the impending executions.

“It is unconscionable that authorities in Singapore continue to cruelly pursue more executions in the name of drug control,” Amnesty’s death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement.

“There is no evidence that the death penalty has a unique deterrent effect or that it has any impact on the use and availability of drugs.

“As countries around the world do away with the death penalty and embrace drug policy reform, Singapore’s authorities are doing neither,” Sangiorgio added.

Singapore insists that the death penalty is an effective crime deterrent.

— AFP

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