Trial of Gazprombank managers underway in Switzerland

Four employees of the Russian Gazprombank in Switzerland have appeared in a Swiss court, accused of lacking diligence in financial transactions. The prosecution alleges that a well-known concert cellist, Sergey Roldugin, linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin moved millions of francs through Swiss bank accounts without any proper checks between 2014 and 20216. The four defendants - three Russians who worked in Zurich and one Swiss - all denied the allegations against them at the hearing. They allegedly failed to do enough to determine the identity of the beneficial owner of the funds. The prosecutor is seeking suspended sentences of seven months for each of the bankers. The trial at a Zurich district court is expected to last one day. Two accounts Roldugin was named the owner of two accounts opened at Gazprombank Switzerland in 2014, into which flowed millions of francs from Russia. This was despite Roldugin - who appears on the Swiss list of sanctioned Russians - having...