Saturday, November 5, 2011

SWISS LAWYER CONVICTED OF MONEY LAUNDERING IN US RESIGNS FROM BOARD

Remember Swiss lawyer Hans Bodmer ? He pled guilty* in the United States to Money Laundering in 2004. Why has he never served a day in prison, you ask; he has never even been sentenced yet. He was the star witness in the 2009 corruption trial of American handbag manufacturer, Frederic Bourke, and the US Government let him return to Switzerland, to resume the practice of law.

My readers may remember that I wrote about Bodmer a while ago. He was reappointed to the board of directors at Hyposwiss Private Ltd. The bank's press release at the time stated that he was an experienced private banker, and it was stated that he had not been violated Swiss law. It appears that the bank did not consider that his American conviction, for money laundering, disqualified him for the board appointment. What were they thinking ?

Apparently, their faith in him was misplaced. Bodmer has reportedly been accused of participating in a new money laundering scheme. His conduct has been reported to the Swiss regulator, FINMA. His immediate resignation has been announced by the bank.

Bourke is now appealing his conviction, alleging that Bodmer committed perjury at the trial. Perhaps someone at the US Attorneys' office might now want to bring Mr. Bodmer back from Switzerland, and finally sentence him, in a case filed in 2003. Why on earth did they not sentence him after his 2009 testimony was completed, and they got their conviction of Bourke ?

Having been a career money launderer myself, I can testify, from experience, that the only
way to stop someone from  going right back to this kind of conduct is to incarcerate him. Whoever the agents were who had the bright idea to send him back to his Swiss law office, they do not understand how money launderers operate. You incapacitate money launderers, through incarceration, to take them out of circulation; you do not coddle them.
______________________________________________________________________________
United States vs., Bodmer,  Case No: 03-cr-00947-SAS (SDNY).

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.