ZURICH -Three organisations have filed a criminal complaint to federal prosecutors in Switzerland, alleging a failure to exercise due diligence at UBS in relation to funds they say were received by an alleged associate of former Congolese president Joseph Kabila.
The complaint, filed by Swiss campaign group Public Eye, alongside two other groups, relates to a possible failure to exercise due diligence regarding financial transactions within the largest Swiss bank.
UBS declined to comment.
The criminal complaint, filed to Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General, centres on transactions totalling $19 million they say were sent to the alleged associate’s UBS accounts in Zurich and Geneva in 2012 and 2013.
An attorney for Kabila did not immediately respond to requests for comment by telephone and text message.
The individual named by Public Eye also did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent via LinkedIn.
The Office of the Attorney General confirmed it had received the criminal complaint.
“The criminal complaint will now be examined in accordance with the usual procedure,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Based on the filing, the attorney general’s office may decide to open criminal proceedings, assign such proceedings to regional prosecutors or determine that no proceedings are necessary.
Swiss financial market supervisor FINMA said it was aware of the case and was in contact with UBS regarding it. It declined to comment on further details.
(Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi in Zurich; additional reporting by Fiston Mahamba in Goma; editing by David Evans and Louise Heavens)
