UK watchdog downgrades probe into Credit Suisse over Mozambique loans
Financial Conduct Authority drops criminal investigation into alleged fraud as ‘it has no power to prosecute under Britain’s antibribery law’
London — Britain’s financial watchdog has dropped a criminal probe into Credit Suisse related to an alleged fraud in Mozambique, but is still checking the bank and individuals for any breaches of conduct rules, the watchdog says. In 2016, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched an investigation into the Swiss bank’s activities in Mozambique, where about $2bn of loans to state-owned companies pushed the country into a debt crisis. Appearing before British legislators on Tuesday, FCA chief executive Andrew Bailey confirmed a newspaper report that the watchdog had downgraded its investigation in August, saying it had no power to prosecute under Britain’s antibribery law. “We concluded we couldn’t bring a criminal case,” he told parliament’s treasury select committee. “But our regulatory powers still apply to both the individuals and the firm, and that would be in respect of systems and controls of the firm, and also in respect to fitness and properness in respect to the individu...
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