© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Antonio Horta-Osorio speaks at the annual meeting of the British Chambers of Commerce in central London, Britain, February 10, 2015. REUTERS / Stefan Wermuth / File Photo
By Oliver Hirt
ZURICH (Reuters) – A preliminary investigation of Credit Suisse (SIX:) found out that their President Antonio Horta-Osorio attended the Wimbledon tennis final in July during a visit to the UK when the country’s COVID-19 regulations required him to be in good health. quarantine, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
This is the second time the Portuguese banker, who joined the Swiss bank in April to clean up his culture after a series of scandals, has been found to have circumvented coronavirus restrictions.
The results of the investigation by Credit Suisse’s legal team were passed on to the audit committee on the bank’s board before Christmas. Sources said they will now investigate and decide if any further action needs to be taken.
Spokesmen for Credit Suisse and Horta-Osorio declined to comment when asked about the investigation and its findings.
Horta-Osorio admitted to breaking Switzerland’s COVID-19 rules during his visit to the country on Nov. 28. Swiss rules stipulate that he must spend 10 days in quarantine upon arrival but he left the country again on December 1st.
Reports of the Swiss breach prompted the bank’s board to launch an internal investigation.
During the investigation, the bank’s legal team discovered that Horta-Osorio had also breached British rules when he made his tour of Wimbledon for the finals over the weekend of July 10 and 11. sources said.
At the time, Switzerland and most other European countries were on Britain’s “amber list”, meaning travelers had to quarantine for 10 days upon arrival in the country.
A UK government spokesman said it would not comment on specific cases.
“Passengers are responsible for ensuring they comply with all travel rules, including providing correct information on the Passenger Locator Form, and failure to do so may result in fines or imprisonment” , the spokesman said.
Horta-Osorio’s Swiss offense is being looked at by prosecutors in the canton of St Gallen after he reported it to them and he could face fines of up to 5000 Swiss francs ($5,450).
(1 dollar = 0.9172 Swiss francs)
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