There are claims that the Swiss bank was one of several organisations to have received illicit funds in the Latin American country.

Tag|Credit Suisse">Credit Suisse has insisted it strictly controls financial crime, responding to reports that associates of late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez stashed millions of bribes into bank accounts, including at the Zurich-listed bank. 

German-language Swiss newspaper Tagesanzeiger, referring to US documents, said Chávez allies concealed bribes in accounts.

“Credit Suisse has stringent control mechanisms in place to combat financial crime and is committed to operating its business in strict compliance with all applicable laws and regulations within the markets in which it operates. In the circumstances where we identify any relationships which could have been used for illicit activity, we take prompt and decisive action which will include liaison with applicable regulatory authorities and restrictions of activity up until and including termination in line with respective requirements,” the bank said in an emailed statement. 

Venezuela, an oil-rich state, is in economic chaos as policies of the hard-left Chávez regime, such as nationalisation of the energy sector, planning and other measures, have taken their toll. The government has been condemned for corruption and suppression of a free press. 

Media reports said Venezuela's former vice-minister of energy, Nervis Villalobos, and other functionaries opened at least nine Swiss accounts in 2011 – including at Credit Suisse.