Swiss authority charges Credit Suisse over Abacha money

The daily Neue Zurcher Zeitung said the commission accused Credit Suisse of negligence in having accepted money for deposit by the Nigerian leader. But the commission did not determine that the bank had violated Switzerland's money-laundering laws, the report said.

The commission in its investigation dtermined that Abacha's son had held an account with 214 million dollars at Credit Suisse. The bank should have noticed that the money may not have been legally acquired, the commission report said.

At the end of 1999, assets of Abacha and his entourage totalling 660 million dollars were frozen at various Swiss banks. The supervisory commission of the Swiss Banking Federation oversees banks' adherence to bank account regulations. Violations can be punished with a fine of up to 10 million Swiss francs (5.9 million dollars) which are given to charity.

(sda)