Four bankers from a Russian bank’s Swiss branch have been found guilty by a Zurich court over vast sums going into the accounts of a close confidant of President Vladimir Putin.
The accounts in the Swiss arm of Gazprombank were held by Sergei Roldugin, the artistic director of the St. Petersburg Music House, who is often dubbed Putin’s cellist.
Roldugin has been a friend of Putin for more than four decades and is godfather to one of the Russian leader’s daughters.
The four men were found guilty of “lack of due diligence in financial transactions” the Zurich District Court said in its verdict released to media on Thursday, over the millions of Swiss francs flowing through Roldugin’s account.
Under Swiss law, the bankers – two Russians, one Swiss, and a Russian-born British national – cannot be identified.
The bank branch’s chief executive was fined 540,000 Swiss francs ($590,200).
Two other managers were fined 90,000 francs and 63,000 francs, while a customer advisor was fined 48,000 francs.
But the sentences were suspended for two years, meaning the four will not have to pay the fines unless they re-offend within that time.
The court confirmed that the four men had exercised their right to appeal against the verdict.
