Four bankers who helped Russian President Vladimir Putin's friend set up Swiss bank account convicted

Four bankers who helped a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin move millions of francs through Swiss bank accounts have been convicted of lacking diligence in financial transactions. On Thursday, the four were found guilty of helping Sergey Roldugin, a concert cellist who has been dubbed "Putin's wallet" by the Swiss government.

The executives - three Russians and one Swiss - helped Roldugin, who is godfather to Putin's eldest daughter Maria, deposit millions of francs in Swiss bank accounts between 2014 and 2016.

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The men were found guilty at a hearing at Zurich District Court and given suspended sentences of seven months each (they cannot be named due to Swiss reporting limitations). If there are any questions about the identity of the contracting party, Swiss banks are required to reject or end business ties.

According to reports, the four executives helped Roldugin operate two bank accounts at Gazprombank in Zurich, through which millions of francs flowed, without conducting sufficient checks.

The prosecution had alleged the men failed to do enough to determine the identity of the real owner of the funds and it was implausible that Roldugin could be the real owner.

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Jan Hoffmann, the public prosecutor, estimated that the case involved payments total about 30 million Swiss francs ($31.84 million). This was despite the musician's lack of stated business activities and he was also on Switzerland's list of Russians who have been sanctioned.

Roldugin was among scores of members of Putin's inner circle sanctioned by the West, including Switzerland, after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

• Russia
• Swiss bank
• Vladimir Putin
• Sergey Roldugin