NEW: A prominent Taiwanese politician had a Credit Suisse account that could provide critical information on a corrupt $2.5b deal for naval ships.

A #SuisseSecrets story from OCCRP and @lemondefr [Thread]👇
occrp.org/en/suisse-secr…
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/
James Soong Chu-yu was a leading figure in Taiwan’s ruling party when the naval contract was signed. He was also accused of taking kickbacks from the deal.

Leaked data shows that Soong had a Credit Suisse account that held as much as 13m Swiss francs. 4/ cdn.occrp.org/projects/suiss…
We also found Credit Suisse accounts belonging to relatives of a key middleman in the corrupt deal, Wang Chuan-pu, also known as Andrew Wang.

The accounts were opened btw. 1997 and 2001, when his role in the deal was public knowledge. 5/
Judicial officials and police in France, Taiwan, and Switzerland said they were unaware of Soong’s Credit Suisse account.

"It could have shed important light on what was really behind this case," said a former judge who led the French probe into the Lafayette scandal. 6/
This is our latest Suisse Secrets investigation.

Find more of our stories here: occrp.org/en/suisse-secr…

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More from @OCCRP

Feb 23
#SuisseSecrets: OCCRP and our Serbian partner @KRIKrs show how Credit Suisse maintained accounts belonging to alleged drug smuggler Rodoljub Radulović. 1/ occrp.org/en/suisse-secr…
Radulović is a Serbian business partner of Montenegrin drug baron Darko Šarić. On the run since 2012, Radulović has been charged in the same case that saw Šarić found guilty of smuggling almost 6 tons of cocaine into Europe from South America. 2/
cdn.occrp.org/projects/suiss…
One of the accounts Radulović held at Credit Suisse was allegedly used to launder the proceeds of his drug-trafficking operations. 3/
Read 5 tweets
Feb 23
#SuisseSecrets: OCCRP reveals how the sons of an Azeri despot received millions from shell companies tied to two massive money laundering systems at multiple foreign banks, including Credit Suisse. 1/ occrp.org/en/suisse-secr…
Seymur and Rza Talibov — sons of Vasif Talibov, ruler of the autonomous exclave of Nakhchivan — received multiple suspicious transfers to their Credit Suisse accounts between 2007 and 2012. 2/ Image
The wire transfers came from shell firms that were not only part of the #AzerbaijaniLaundromat and #TroikaLaundromat — massive money laundering schemes uncovered by OCCRP — but also figured in a human trafficking investigation in Bosnia. 3/
Read 6 tweets
Feb 22
#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.

But its owners, the Guta family, walked away with a fortune. cdn.occrp.org/projects/suiss…
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.
Read 8 tweets
Feb 21
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/
Read 5 tweets
Feb 21
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.

Another #SuisseSecrets Thread 👇occrp.org/en/suisse-secr…
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 5 tweets
Feb 21
NEW: It’s been four years since 27-year-old investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírova were murdered in a Slovak village.

Having worked with Ján, we mourn them still. Here’s how their deaths changed the country. #allforjan 1/ occrp.org/en/a-journalis…
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…
Read 4 tweets

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