Credit Suisse investigation reveals chairman broke Covid rules twice
António Horta-Osório is under investigation by Credit Suisse after reportedly breaking Covid quarantine rules for the second time, in order to watch a Wimbledon tennis match in the summer.
Horta-Osorio, who joined Credit Suisse from Lloyds in April, has previously called the scandals faced by Credit Suisse, including the $5.4bn loss from the collapse of US family office Archegos Capital in March, the gravest he had ever seen. Embarrassingly, the company now finds its chairman at the centre of a new scandal.
Last month he unveiled sweeping plans to restructure the lender, reining in its investment bank and focusing on its wealth management division. The new strategy had been designed to to “rebuild a culture of trust,” he said. But the revelation that the bank’s own chairman, brought in just eight months ago to help the scandal-ridden company recover its reputation, may prompt more questions about the company culture.
At the time of the breach in July, UK coronavirus regulations stipulated that anyone travelling from Switzerland had to quarantine for ten days upon arrival. But an investigation by the Credit Suisse legal team found that Horta-Osório broke the rules to attend a Wimbledon tennis finals match, according to Reuters which first reported the news.
The investigation was originally prompted by a separate incident after Horta-Osorio broke Switzerland’s Covid rules in November, by flying in and out of the country within three days – contravening the required ten day quarantine period.
He could face a fine of up to 5000 Swiss francs as penalty for breaking Swiss laws. Although Horta-Osorio has reportedly said the breach was not intentional, according to the Times, the bank chairman broke rules even after authorities told him that he would not be given a free pass from national laws.