Banque de Patrimoines Privés Genève has been ordered by the Swiss Federal Court to restrict its relations with the Republic of Angola due to...

Banque de Patrimoines Privés Genève has been ordered by the Swiss Federal Court to restrict its relations with the Republic of Angola due to concerns over money laundering, according to reports in the Swiss press. The Swiss Federal Court backed up a decision taken by the Swiss Federal Banking Commission in late 2004, which prohibited the taking of accounts opened by the Republic of Angola at the Geneva-based bank’s Bahamian subsidiary and limits the transfer of money to $300,000 per quarter from Angola. BPP had appealed the ruling from the SFBC, but this has now been rejected by the Federal Court. The Federal Court ruling said BPP could continue relations with Angolan clients “if accurate checks are assured”. But the decision is expected to severely restrict BPP’s business in the Bahamas, say experts. A report in Le Temps said BPP’s Bahamian subsidiary manages around SFr200 million ($163.7 million) of Angolan money in six accounts. Three of them were related to the sale of the state oil company, Sonangol. There has been concern for years that many top officials in the Angolan government and individuals connected to them personally benefited from the sale of state assets such as Sonangol. Le Temps went on to say that few Swiss banks accept accounts from government officials from Angola. BPP said that it would continue to maintain its presence in the Bahamas, even if “confronted with commercial difficulties in the future”, according to the Le Temps report. BPP has around SFr1.4 billion of assets under management, with nearly half of this booked in the Bahamas.