NEW: Leaders of intelligence agencies in Pakistan, Yemen, Egypt, and Jordan are tied to Credit Suisse accounts that swelled in value as they served key roles in U.S.-led wars. #SuisseSecretsoccrp.org/en/suisse-secr…
🇪🇬 Egypt: Omar Suleiman was personally linked to torture. One of his agency’s most famous victims was a man whose confession was used to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
🇾🇪 Yemen: Intelligence chief Ghaleb Al-Qamish helped the CIA find the suspects behind the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, and his agency participated in the U.S. extraordinary rendition program.
🇵🇰 Pakistan: An intelligence chief oversaw millions in CIA funding sent to arm Afghan mujahideen fighting the Soviets.
But as the American money flowed, Credit Suisse accounts were opened under the names of the general’s sons. These accounts went on to hold millions.
🇯🇴 Jordan: Spymaster Sa’ad Khair, who also oversaw much of Jordan’s role in the U.S. extraordinary rendition program, had a Credit Suisse account that swelled to 28.3m Swiss francs.
An ex-CIA official told OCCRP that Swiss bank accounts serve as a back-up in case the regimes these spies serve are overthrown, or they themselves fall out of favor.
These intelligence officials are just some of the problematic Credit Suisse clients that we uncovered.
Background on the Corruption Case: The “Lafayette” scandal started when Taiwan bought six navy frigates from a French state-backed defense firm three decades ago for $2.5b.
Some $520m in kickbacks are believed to have been paid out to officials in Taiwan, France, and China. 2/
Last year, Switzerland agreed to return $266m in “illegal commissions” on the deal that were stashed in Swiss bank accounts.
But authorities say they were unaware of a Swiss account exposed in today’s investigation. 3/
#SuisseSecrets: Leaked records show how Credit Suisse played a role as a fugitive family siphoned over $100m from one of Ukraine’s largest agricultural companies, which affected investors throughout Europe. [Thread] 👇 occrp.org/en/suisse-secr…
2) The collapse of Mriya Agro Holding shook investors throughout Europe, including in Germany where the gov’t bailed out Deutsche Bank and two other firms affected by the fallout.
3) The Gutas are wanted in Ukraine for using Mriya Agro Holdings to buy shares — at wildly inflated prices — in Cypriot shell companies through BVI firms, which they also owned.
Our investigation reveals that Credit Suisse played a role in this scam.
NEW: OCCRP and @IrpiMedia reveal how a suspected money launderer for the ‘Ndrangheta stashed a small fortune in secret accounts at Credit Suisse. #SuisseSecrets 1/ occrp.org/en/suisse-secr…
Antonio Velardo, an Italian real estate developer, was suspected of laundering money for the ‘Ndrangheta, Italy’s largest mafia-type organization, through a Calabrian seaside apartment complex. 2/
Investors lost millions when authorities seized the ‘Jewel of the Sea’ development mid-way through construction in 2013. Both Velardo and his business partner, a convicted IRA bomber, were later cleared of related charges. 3/
NEW: In the years before the Arab Spring, Credit Suisse allowed ruling elites, including the sons of Hosni Mubarak, to maintain bank accounts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
2) Swiss authorities reported a surge in "suspicious transactions" from Arab countries in 2011, which they partly attributed to the Arab Spring.
Suisse Secrets gives new insight into the funds held by Arab elites at one Swiss bank.
3) Reporters found that the sons of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have held at least six accounts at Credit Suisse between them, one with a maximum balance worth over 277 million Swiss francs — about $197.5 million at the time. cdn.occrp.org/projects/suiss…
Read our previous investigation about Marian Kočner, the businessman accused of ordering the murders.
Documents obtained from the police probe show how, for decades, he used cash and kompromat to bend the country's legal system to his will. 2/ occrp.org/en/a-journalis…
In another investigation, Kočner’s text messages, backed by court testimony, provided an inside look into how he kept Slovak judges in the palm of his hand. 3/ occrp.org/en/a-journalis…
Using court documents from Spain, the U.S. and Andorra, reporters identified 20 key players from four corruption schemes at Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., once the jewel in the crown of Venezuela’s oil-dependent economy. 2/
Combing through thousands of banking records leaked from inside the scandal-ridden Swiss lender, we found well over USD$270m in 25 accounts belonging to these figures, their families and associates -- almost all of which were opened during the height of plunder at PDVSA. 3/