Credit Suisse admits to spying on second executive
The Credit Suisse spying saga continues as the Swiss bank admitted to having undertaken surveillance of a second senior executive.
Following surveillance of the firm’s former wealth management chief, bank blamed former chief operating officer Pierre-Olivier Bouee for hiring detectives in February to track former human resources head Peter Goerke.
Read more: Credit Suisse cuts profit targets and pivots away from coal
Switzerland’s second largest bank added that the surveillance was a rogue operation which none of the firm’s other senior executives were aware of.
Chief executive Tidjane Thiam had called the first case of surveillance into former wealth management boss Iqbal Khan an “isolated incident.”
In a statement, bank chairman Urs Rohner said: “The observation of Peter Goerke, which has now been confirmed, is inexcusable.
“We are aware that the observation of Iqbal Khan and Peter Goerke have damaged the reputation of our bank.”
He added there was “grave concern” that those responsible for ordering the surveillance had not mentioned it during an earlier probe regarding Khan.
Goerke had no knowledge that he had been followed by private detectives until officials from the bank contacted him shortly before Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung made the matter public last Monday, a source familiar with his thinking told Reuter.
Goerke, who is still employed by the bank as an adviser, saw no grounds to pursue the matter criminally, the source said, and was in contact with senior officials at Credit Suisse.
Credit Suisse has been under pressure since September when Khan filed a criminal complaint in Zurich after a confrontation between him and one of the private detectives tailing him.
The bank launched an investigation and found it had bankrolled the surveillance.
Read more: Tailed in Zurich: How the Credit Suisse spy drama unfolded
An investigation by law firm Homburger into the spying on Khan – who now works for rival UBS – had found Bouee and a security boss under him were alone responsible for the order and found no evidence of other incidents.
Both resigned and Credit Suisse said on Monday that Bouee’s employment had now been terminated, indicating his bonus and other potential compensation would likely be forfeited.