In Switzerland, prosecutors have filed negligence charges against four bankers who investigators believe allowed cellist Sergei Roldugin to move millions of francs through accounts in that country. According to Reuters, among the accused are three Russians and one Swiss.
The prosecutor's office claims that the bankers who worked in Zurich did not carry out the necessary checks and did not establish the ultimate beneficiary of the accounts. The bankers, whose names are not named, pleaded not guilty.
“It is well known that Russian President Putin officially has an income of only 100,000 Swiss francs (€100.6 thousand) and is not rich, but in fact owns huge assets managed by people close to him,” the indictment says.
Roldugin, who has been described as a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been under EU sanctions since 2022. EU authorities believe the musician owns at least five offshore companies and is helping Putin hide assets. The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom also put Roldugin on the sanctions list.
The musician was called the owner of two accounts opened in 2014 in the Swiss branch of Gazprombank, which received millions of Swiss francs from Russia.