May 11, 2015
Federal Reserve Board announces five former private bankers and senior managers of Credit Suisse, AG, Zurich, Switzerland barred from employment in the banking industry
For release at 4:00 p.m. EDT
The Federal Reserve Board on Monday announced it was barring five former private bankers and senior managers of Credit Suisse, AG, Zurich, Switzerland from employment in the banking industry.
The Board announced last May that it would investigate individuals in connection with a civil money penalty and cease and desist order issued by the Board for Credit Suisse's failure to comply with several federal banking laws. The five individuals named in today's enforcement actions--Markus Walder, Marco Parenti Adami, Susanne Ruegg Meier, Michele Bergantino, and Roger Schaerer--were previously indicted for conspiracy to defraud the U.S government by assisting U.S. citizens' evasion of federal income taxes through the creation and maintenance of bank accounts that were not declared to U.S. tax authorities.
According to the indictment, Walder was the head of Credit Suisse's North American Offshore Banking business and was responsible for the bank's undeclared U.S. cross-border banking business. As a Director within Credit Suisse, Walder supervised teams of private bankers in Switzerland as well as Credit Suisse's Representative Office in New York. Adami, Meier, and Bergantino were private bankers who provided banking and investment advice to U.S. customers who maintained undeclared Swiss bank accounts. Schaerer ran the New York Representative Office of Credit Suisse and was the bank's Senior Representative in the United States. According to the indictment, Walder, Adami, Meier, Bergantino, and Schaerer assisted clients in evading U.S. taxes through the use of undeclared Swiss accounts.
In issuing today's enforcement actions, the Board found that the continued participation by Walder, Adami, Meier, Bergantino, and Schaerer in the affairs of a depository institution would impair public confidence in the institution. The prohibition is effective indefinitely, unless the criminal charges against Walder, Adami, Meier, Bergantino, and Schaerer are dismissed.
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