Media hype before the trial of Putin’s money trail to Switzerland
Media from New York to London are watching the start of the negotiations. The effects even affect the Kremlin.
The consequences of the Zurich trial affect him personally: Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin.
Photo: Keystone
It is the world’s major media companies that have secured one of the few seats in the district court on Zurich’s Wengistrasse. The “Wall Street Journal” from New York, Reuters from London, the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” from Munich, for the Austrian television ORF there is even a cameraman on site.
The reason: this morning it’s about bank accounts from the innermost environment of warlord Vladimir Putin personally.
Four bankers from Gazprombank Switzerland, including the CEO, are accused. Single judge Sebastian Aeppli must now decide whether they violated their duty of care when transferring millions via these accounts. All four plead for acquittal.
The seats in the courtroom are full
Reuters’ John Revill is outside the courthouse early in the morning. “This case is very important internationally,” he says, “because it has to do with Vladimir Putin, who is believed to have assets worth billions and has been an international focus since the Ukraine war.” The oligarchs’ money has been a big issue since the sanctions, but this court case now revolves around the key question of where Putin has his money. “Today’s trial could provide clues.”
Camera teams from three broadcasters have lined up in front of the entrance to the courthouse. The accused come not only with their lawyers, but also with communication specialists. The journalists are divided between two halls. The process is not only followed locally, but worldwide – and there is a good reason for this: “The investigations and this process were ultimately triggered by the research we and our media partners did in 2016,” says James Oliver, producer of the investigative show BBC’s “Panorama”.
“Swiss bankers have been helping rich Russians, oligarchs and Putin friends for years.”
This refers to the Panama Papers, which revealed that Putin’s entourage is moving funds through Gazprombank. “The trial against the four Gazprombank employees is a late consequence of our research into the Panama Papers,” explains Isabel Pfaff, who is on site as a correspondent for the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. Of course, there was also great interest in Germany. It is also about the image of Switzerland.
“For years we have seen Swiss bankers and financial service providers helping rich Russians, oligarchs and Putin friends,” explains Frederik Obermaier of Paper Trail Media, who played a leading role in the revelations. “The fact that four bankers may now be held responsible for this is an important signal.”
“This case is very important internationally”: camera team in front of the Zurich district court.
Photo: Oliver Zihlmann
It is still unclear what kind of signal will be sent out to the whole world from Courtroom 4 today. The two accounts in question were opened by Gazprombank in 2014. On paper they belonged to the Russian cellist Sergei Roldugin.
But the Panama Papers and now also the investigations of the Zurich public prosecutor’s office show two problems. First, millions flowed through the accounts, but Roldugin himself said he had no millions. Second, he is also one of the closest personal friends of Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin. Roldugin is even his daughter’s godfather.
Explained in two minutes: Video on the Putin/Roldugin case.
The tens of millions pouring into and out of Gazprombank accounts: should they really have been his? Or was he just a straw man for the Russian establishment or even Putin himself, who had parked their wealth in Switzerland?
The indictment states that it is notorious that Russian President Putin officially only has an income of CHF 100,000, but has enormous assets that are managed by people close to him. “These generally known circumstances alone would have resulted in a considerable and profound need for clarification,” writes the prosecutor in charge of the case.
So did the bankers not check the information about Roldugin carefully enough? This process is about this central question.
Whether Judge Sebastian Aeppli will announce the verdict today is unclear. Four bankers who were responsible for opening an account in 2014 are accused. Including the CEO of the bank. They are accused of neglecting the necessary due diligence in clarifying the identity of the owner of the accounts. They deny these allegations.
It is a crucial moment for the international media. “Now we will see to what extent bankers and other financial intermediaries can be held accountable,” says BBC journalist James Oliver.
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