The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA has identified that the independent banking firm Banca Credinvest was involved in some serious AML violations when dealing with its Venezuelan clients. FINMA’s proceedings against Banca Credinvest began in November 2018 when it received information about possible AML violations. The violations were linked to corruption by the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA.
In its investigation, FINMA found deficiencies in the bank’s AML framework, including in risk assessment and management. The bank failed to adequately perform AML-related customer due diligence between 2013 and 2017. It did not sufficiently identify its clients or monitor their transactions. There were also significant delays in the filing of suspicious activity reports.
FINMA has ordered the bank to implement strict measures to ensure compliance with AML regulations. The bank must regularly conduct client monitoring to pre-emptively identify possible money-laundering risks and mitigate them. Moreover, the bank must immediately cease relationships with its Venezuelan clients. Additionally, it is not permitted to sign on any new high-risk clients such as politically exposed persons for three years or until FINMA is satisfied with the bank’s upgraded AML framework.