The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is directing the fines imposed on Credit Suisse, related to the Mozambique scandal, into a fund. The fund, which amounts to around $105.5 million (CHF96 million), will be distributed to the victims.
The “Credit Suisse Fair Fund”, set up by the SEC, includes money collected from Credit Suisse and the Russian bank VTB Capital, covering interest and civil penalties. According to an order by the SEC published on Friday, a plan to distribute these funds to affected investors will be established by the end of July 2025.
Credit Suisse, now owned by UBS, settled with regulators in the US, UK and Switzerland in October 2021 over the Mozambique loan scandal. As part of the deal, the bank paid nearly $550 million in penalties and forgave $200 million in debt owed by Mozambique.
The Mozambique scandal involved over $2 billion in loans and bonds arranged by Credit Suisse for the African nation. These were secured without the knowledge of the local parliament or the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The funds were supposedly meant to develop a tuna fishing fleet, but large-scale bribes were allegedly paid to corrupt officials, plunging Mozambique into a severe financial crisis.
Swissinfo
