A criminal probe established that the payments at the centre of the case took place between June 2010 and May 2013. The fine imposed took into account, among other factors, Pictet's "very good cooperation" in the proceedings, the authorities in Switzerland said.

The Swiss Attorney General's Office has imposed a suspended six month prison term on a former Pictet relationship manager (RM), and fined Geneva-headquartered Pictet SFr2 million ($2.5 million). The case relates to money laundering in a Petrobras-related probe.

Pictet was fined for failing to take all reasonable and necessary measures to prevent transfers from the account of a Brazilian public official aimed at concealing their criminal origin.

The OAG did not identify the former Pictet employee by name. It also imposed a two-year probation order on the person.

The criminal investigation established that between June 2010 and May 2013, funds totalling more than SFr4.1 million originating from corrupt payments were transferred from the account of a Brazilian public official at Pictet Bank with the aim of concealing their criminal origin.

The OAG said it has a series of proceedings linked to an international corruption case known as “Lava Jato,” which has its epicentre in Brazil.

Involving state-owned oil company Petrobras, this case also had repercussions in Switzerland, the OAG said in its statement from 17 June.

In December 2021, the OAG initiated a criminal investigation against Pictet Bank, one of its former RMs and unknown perpetrators on suspicion of complicity in bribery of foreign public officials and aggravated money laundering.

The OAG found that a former RM within Pictet Bank’s Wealth Management division and, since January 2013, head of the Brazilian market, was guilty of aggravated money laundering. 

This sentence took into account the time elapsed since the offence was committed, the accused’s cooperation during the proceedings and his personal circumstances, the OAG said. 

“This [fine] amount also takes into account the time elapsed since the offence was committed, as well as Pictet Bank's very good cooperation in the proceedings and the corrective measures taken within the bank, including organisational measures, after the Petrobras case came to light,” the OAG said. 

The OAG added that the former RM and Pictet Bank have declared that they will not appeal the summary penalty and partial abandonment of proceedings order.