Thread by @OCCRP

When Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe faced electoral defeat in 2008, investors including Credit Suisse backed a deal that paid for a wave of violence that snuffed out the opposition.

🇨🇭 A #SuisseSecrets thread 🇿🇼
occrp.org/en/suisse-secr…

2) Days after Mugabe lost the first round of elections in 2008, his party received a surprise $100m that was reportedly used to fund a campaign of terror against voters of the opposition.

The money came from the sale of a platinum mine. Here’s how Credit Suisse was involved 👇

3) Bank Accounts 🏦

Mugabe’s gov't seized the platinum mine and gave the rights to a long-time friend of the regime, Muller Conrad “Billy” Rautenbach.

Leaked data shows that Rautenbach opened two Credit Suisse accounts right before the mine was sold.
cdn.occrp.org/projects/suiss…

4) Shares 📜

Through its London-based subsidiary, Credit Suisse held a stake in CAMEC, the firm that bought the platinum mine rights from Rautenbach before transferring the funds to Mugabe’s regime. The bank reportedly bought more CAMEC shares to help finance the mine deal.

5) Loans 💳

Credit Suisse provided CAMEC with a $60m line of credit.

6) “Credit Suisse’s process to verify its clients was either woefully inadequate or completely ignored,” says Anneke Van Woudenberg, executive director of UK-based corporate watchdog @raidukorg.

7) This is one of many stories from #SuisseSecrets, a collaborative investigation coordinated by @SZ and OCCRP.

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