Geneva, December 2, 2025 – Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) announced on Monday that it has formally indicted UBS, UBS Group AG, the former Credit Suisse Group AG, and a former senior Credit Suisse compliance officer in connection with serious money-laundering deficiencies linked to the Mozambique “tuna bonds” debt scandal of 2013–2016.
The indictment represents a major escalation in one of the largest corruption and hidden-debt scandals in African history, involving more than $2 billion in loans arranged primarily by Credit Suisse and Russia’s VTB Bank for three Mozambican state-owned companies: ProIndicus, EMATUM (Mozambique Tuna Company), and MAM. Significant portions of those funds, widely alleged to have been diverted as bribes and kickbacks, vanished, saddling Mozambique with secret debt that precipitated a sovereign default and a prolonged economic crisis.
Core Allegations from the Swiss Prosecutor
The case focuses on organizational deficiencies at Credit Suisse that allegedly permitted the bank to accept and transfer funds suspected of being criminal proceeds without adequate anti-money-laundering controls.
Key points from the prosecution:
- In 2016, approximately $7.86 million originating from Mozambique’s Ministry of Economy and Finance was transferred to accounts held at Credit Suisse by a foreign company believed to be deeply involved in the scandal. Swiss prosecutors assert that these funds are presumed to stem from a corrupt “running fee.”
- Within a short time, $7 million was moved onward to accounts in the United Arab Emirates.
- Despite clear internal warnings, the indicted former Credit Suisse relationship manager (described in the proceedings as a compliance officer) allegedly recommended simply terminating the client relationship rather than filing a suspicious transaction report with Switzerland’s Money Laundering Reporting Office (MROS).
- When the relationship was finally closed, an additional $609,000 and 28,000 Swiss francs (roughly $35,000), also suspected to be proceeds of crime, were transferred abroad. The individual is accused of qualified money laundering through negligent facilitation of these transfers.
Credit Suisse, Credit Suisse Group AG, and their legal successors UBS SA and UBS Group AG face charges under Switzerland’s corporate criminal liability provisions (Article 102 of the Swiss Criminal Code) for failing to implement all necessary and reasonable organizational measures to prevent money laundering. Prosecutors pointed to “considerable defects” in Credit Suisse’s risk-management systems and internal guidelines in 2016. The bank did not report the suspicious transactions to MROS until 2019, three years later, only after the U.S. Department of Justice had already opened its own criminal investigation.
Background of the Mozambique Hidden-Debt Scandal
Between 2013 and 2014, Credit Suisse and VTB arranged $2.2 billion in loans and bond issuances that were presented as financing for a coastal-protection fleet (ProIndicus), a state-owned tuna fishing company (EMATUM), and shipyard maintenance (MAM). The deals were deliberately concealed from the International Monetary Fund, international donors, and most of Mozambique’s parliament.
Subsequent journalistic investigations and criminal probes in multiple jurisdictions revealed that at least $200 million was siphoned off in bribes and kickbacks to Mozambican officials, bankers, and middlemen, including members of the country’s intelligence service.
Several individuals have already faced justice in other countries:
- Three former Credit Suisse bankers pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court in 2019 to conspiracy charges related to money laundering and wire fraud.
- Jean Boustani, the lead salesman for Privinvest (the shipbuilding conglomerate that received the bulk of the loan proceeds), was acquitted in a 2019 U.S. jury trial but remains under scrutiny elsewhere.
- Mozambique’s former finance minister, Manuel Chang, was extradited from South Africa to the United States in 2024 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in July 2025.
UBS as Legal Successor
UBS completed its government-orchestrated emergency acquisition of Credit Suisse in March 2023 to prevent a broader banking crisis. As part of the transaction, UBS assumed full legal responsibility for all pre-existing liabilities of Credit Suisse. Accordingly, both UBS SA and UBS Group AG are named as defendants under successor liability.
On December 2, 2025, a UBS spokesperson stated that the bank notes the OAG’s decision, will carefully review the indictment, and intends to defend itself vigorously in court. UBS stressed that the events occurred well before the merger and highlighted significant subsequent investments in strengthening anti-money-laundering controls.
Next Steps and Wider Implications
The case has been forwarded to the Swiss Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona for trial. Under Swiss law, the presumption of innocence applies to all defendants until a final judgment.
If convicted, possible consequences include corporate fines, forfeiture of any illicit profits, and further reputational damage. The proceedings are also likely to influence ongoing civil litigation brought by the Republic of Mozambique against Credit Suisse/UBS and Privinvest in the English High Court, where Mozambique is seeking damages exceeding $3 billion.
This Swiss indictment serves as a stark reminder that even in financial centers with robust regulation, systemic compliance failures can facilitate massive cross-border corruption schemes for years before they are uncovered.
As of December 2, 2025, no trial date has been scheduled, but the case is expected to attract intense international scrutiny for its implications on global banking standards and the continuing fight against grand corruption in developing countries.
