ZURICH – Prosecutors in the Swiss canton of St Gallen say they are reviewing a breach of quarantine rules by Credit Suisse Chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio, an offence that could see him fined up to 5000 Swiss francs ($5,420.64).
The bank said on Dec. 8 that Horta-Osorio broke the rules during a November trip to Switzerland when he left the country earlier than a 10-day quarantine period allowed.
Horta-Osorio apologised and said he regretted the mistake and would report himself to the relevant authorities. On Friday, a spokesperson for the Public Prosecutors Office of St Gallen said it had received a submission about the incident.
“The proceedings are pending,” the spokesperson said, adding no further information could be provided.
A representative for Horta-Osorio declined to comment.
Credit Suisse has said he entered Switzerland on Nov 28 and left on Dec 1 when a 10-day quarantine was required. Switzerland’s banking regulator has said it is also in touch with the bank over the matter.
The incident comes after the Portuguese banker has said stamping out bad and reckless behaviour at the scandal-hit bank was his priority. Swiss media have honed in on the affair as damaging his ability to reform the bank’s culture.
($1 = 0.9224 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi and Oliver Hirt; Writing by Rachel Armstrong;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
