Swiss banks facing lawsuits in the US

Several major Swiss banks are implicated in a suspected money laundering scheme tied to the Greek shipping firm NewLead Holdings.

NewLead is accused of stock manipulation in a failed coal-trading venture with TransAsia Commodities. After winning a $22 million judgment in 2017, TransAsia alleges NewLead’s CEO funnelled assets through shell companies using accounts at several Swiss and foreign banks.

The banks are now accused of failing to perform due diligence on accounts linked to the scheme, including one at HSBC tied to a Liberian shell company. Zug-based Tallon Trading AG also allegedly helped conceal assets.

Geneva law firm Lalive is representing TransAsia in Switzerland, with over 1,000 pages of evidence submitted. The investigation is hindered by the reported deletion of over 100,000 emails.

Source: finews.com