Key Points

• Lombard Odier, one of Switzerland’s oldest private banks, has been accused by Swiss prosecutors of aggravated money laundering.

• Switzerland’s Attorney General’s Office said Friday that it filed an indictment against Lombard Odier and a former bank employee with Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court on Tuesday.

• The defendant allegedly helped hide the profits of a criminal organization created by Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of Islam Karimov, the authoritarian president of Uzbekistan who died in 2016.

Lombard Odier, one of Switzerland’s oldest private banks, was accused by Swiss prosecutors of aggravated money laundering.

In a statement on Friday, Switzerland’s Attorney General’s Office (OAG) said it filed an indictment against Lombard Odier and a former bank employee with Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court on Tuesday.

The OAG said the defendant helped hide the profits of a criminal organization created by Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of Islam Karimov, the authoritarian president of Uzbekistan who died of a stroke in 2016. Karimova was indicted by the prosecutor general in 2023 for allegations of money laundering resulting from criminal activities in Switzerland between 2005 and 2012.

“Investigations have led the OAG to believe that some of the money laundered in Switzerland may have been transferred to bank accounts in…Lombard Odier in Geneva. “The bank and one of its former relationship managers are alleged to have been instrumental in concealing the proceeds of ‘The Office’s’ criminal activities,” the OAG said in its statement.

They have been under investigation since 2016, prosecutors added.

Lombard Odier, whose origins date back to 1796, denies these accusations.

“We have taken note of the decision of the Swiss Attorney General’s Office to bring charges against the bank for insufficient controls,” the bank said in a statement on Friday.

“This step comes after the opening of a formal investigation against the bank initiated and made public in 2016. For the bank, the accusations are unfounded and unfounded. “The bank plans to defend itself vigorously.”

The bank said the case was initiated thanks to Lombard Odier “proactively reporting his suspicions to the Swiss authorities.”

CNBC reached out to Gregoire Mangeat, who represented Karimova during her legal battles with Swiss authorities. Karimova is currently serving a prison sentence in Uzbekistan.