A former partner at Swiss private bank Mirabaud & Cie, who once headed Switzerland’s banking lobby, has admitted to paying tens of millions of dollars in bribes. Pierre Mirabaud, 77, received a suspended two-year prison sentence on Tuesday. Swiss federal prosecutors alleged Mirabaud made hundreds of payments totalling 82.3 million Swiss francs (approximately A$101.7 million) to a Kuwaiti government official between 2000 and 2012. These payments were reportedly in exchange for bringing A$595.2 million worth of business to the bank, with the indictment stating Mirabaud was aware of the associated risks.
Mirabaud, who retired from the bank in 2009 and continued as a consultant until 2012, accepted the key facts of the corruption and money laundering case. His lawyer noted the suspended sentence reflected Mirabaud’s cooperation with authorities, citing his age and lack of prior convictions. Mirabaud & Cie, founded in Geneva in 1819, is one of Switzerland’s oldest private banks. It provides asset management, wealth management, and brokerage services to private and institutional clients. The bank itself was not a party to this specific case and declined to comment. The Kuwaiti official involved has since passed away, having been convicted in absentia in Kuwait for corruption.
Separately, in 2024, Swiss financial market regulator FINMA took action against Mirabaud & Cie, confiscating 12.7 million francs of unlawfully generated profits. This stemmed from violations of financial market law and breaches of its money-laundering obligations. FINMA’s investigation concerned business relationships that, at times, accounted for almost 10 per cent of the bank’s entire assets under management, connected with a deceased businessman accused of tax evasion. Mirabaud stated it had been fully cooperative in resolving the FINMA case.
