Credit Suisse was shaken by the apparent suicide of a security consultant involved in a corporate espionage scandal that also led to the resignation of its chief operating officer on Tuesday.
The suicide of the consultant, who acted as a middle man between Credit Suisse and a private investigation firm, puts further pressure on the Zurich-based lender as it battles its worst reputational scandal in years.
Pierre-olivier Bouée, Credit Suisse’s COO, submitted his resignation after the bank’s board heard details of a surveillance operation he ordered against Credit Suisse’s outgoing head of wealth management, Iqbal Khan. The bank’s head of security, Remo Boccali, has also resigned. Neither party will receive a pay-off, the bank said.
In a hastily arranged press conference, Urs Rohner, Credit Suisse’s chairman, said: “It was wrong to order the surveillance. The measures taken did not represent our standards. Those responsible for the observation should not be employed by the group.”
Read Also: The feud at Credit Suisse that has shaken Swiss banking
He added: “The reputation of our bank has suffered . . . I would like to apologise on behalf of Credit Suisse to our excellent employees, our shareholders, and to Iqbal Khan and his family for the consequences.”
Mr Rohner said that an independent investigation by law firm Homburger had concluded that Mr Bouée had acted alone in ordering the surveillance and that Tidjane Thiam, the bank’s chief executive, was not involved.
He added that he did not want to pre-empt an official investigation by Zürich’s public prosecutor, which was opened following a complaint by Mr Khan, but said that Homburger’s investigation concluded that Mr Thiam “neither gave the order, nor was he aware of it”.
“We strongly reject any assertions that call into question the integrity of our CEO,” Mr Rohner added.
Mr Rohner said that it was “with great sadness” that the bank had learned of the death of a security expert who worked with Credit Suisse, who was reported to have committed suicide. The security expert acted as a middle man between the bank and Investigo, the private investigation firm, according to one person briefed on the arrangement.
“We express our deep condolences. Out of respect to the relatives we will not comment further on this matter,” he added.
Asked whether Credit Suisse was in any way responsible for the person’s death, Mr Rohner replied: “We are greatly saddened.”
Zurich’s cantonal prosecutor said the death was the subject of its inquiries. Based on current evidence, the incident was being treated as a suicide, a spokesperson told the Financial Times.
The prosecutor’s office said its investigations into potential criminal offences by those who ordered the surveillance against Mr Khan were still ongoing. It declined to comment on whether Credit Suisse was the focus of its investigation.
The bank began its surveillance of Mr Khan last month because of fears that he was preparing to poach bankers and clients to bolster the fortunes of rival UBS, where he started work on Tuesday.
