Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court has ended proceedings against former Credit Suisse executive Lara Warner over allegations she failed to report suspected money laundering related to the Mozambique tuna bond scandal.
The case against Warner, a former chief compliance officer at the collapsed bank which was taken over by UBS in 2023, had exceeded the statute of limitations, the court said on Tuesday. The decision means a 100,000 Swiss franc ($127,000) fine imposed on Warner by the Swiss finance ministry last year has been cancelled.
“I am relieved by this decision and grateful that this matter has finally been resolved,” said Warner, who had denied the accusation of failing to report suspected money laundering.
“I appreciate the support I have received throughout this process and look forward to putting this chapter behind me.”
The finance ministry said it was reviewing a possible appeal against the decision, but declined to comment further.
The case dates back to deals between state-owned Mozambican companies and shipbuilder Privinvest – funded in part by loans and bonds from Credit Suisse and backed by undisclosed Mozambican government guarantees in 2013 and 2014 – to develop the fishing industry and for maritime security.
Hundreds of millions of dollars went missing and, when the government debt came to light in 2016, donors such as the International Monetary Fund temporarily halted support, triggering a currency collapse, defaults and financial turmoil. A criminal case accusing Warner of money laundering offences was abandoned by the Swiss federal prosecutor last year. A former bank employee who reported to Warner was acquitted last week. The court in April also halted separate proceedings against UBS.
Warner, who was compliance chief at Credit Suisse from 2015 to 2021, had been accused of failing to notify Switzerland’s Money Laundering Reporting Office about a suspicious payment.
The allegations related to a March 2016 transfer of about $7.8 million from Mozambique’s finance ministry to a Credit Suisse account in Switzerland, followed by the onward transfer of about $7 million to the United Arab Emirates a few days later.
Authorities alleged the funds were linked to loans granted to Mozambican state-owned companies and were of criminal origin, the court said.
But there was no indication where the cash transferred to the UAE was located from 2017 onwards, while the Gulf state was considered a difficult country to deal with, it added.
As a result any reporting obligation by Credit Suisse would have ended at the beginning of 2017, meaning that the seven-year limitation period for breach of the reporting obligation expired at the beginning of 2024, the court said.
