Credit Suisse to Pay $77 Million to Settle Princeling Probes
- Bank hired more than 100 at request of government officials
- ‘Princess’ got $1 million, although often didn’t show for work
This article is for subscribers only.
Credit Suisse Group AG agreed to pay $77 million to settle U.S. bribery probes claiming the lender’s Hong Kong unit attempted to win banking business by offering jobs to friends and family of Chinese officials.
The bank over seven years tried to hire more than 100 employees at the request of government officials in the Asia-Pacific region, resulting in millions of dollars of revenue, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission order released Thursday. In “at least three instances,” Credit Suisse managers tracked the success of these “relationship hires” with a spreadsheet that linked them to specific business deals for the firm, the SEC said.