Spanish police have searched the Madrid offices of Mirabaud. An executive linked to the Swiss private bank and his wife – a prominent fraud-fighter – are being investigated on accounts of money laundering.
Guardia Civil, the Spanish police, early on Wednesday morning searched the Madrid branch of Mirabaud, according to a report by «El Confidential», a Spanish newspaper. The officers in charge seized documents belonging to Alejandro Pérez Calzada, the former owner of Venture Finanzas, an asset management firm which was acquired by the Swiss private bank in two steps in 2009 and 2011.
The Spanish authorities are investigating a case of money laundering based on customer information contained in the documents stolen by Hervé Falciani. The main target of the investigation is Venture Finanzas.
Part of a Bigger Investigation
The Spanish judiciary is investigating untaxed assets, which had been held at HSBC in Geneva before being cleaned by moving them through the Venture Finanzas company.
In a statement on Friday, Mirabaud distanced itself from any connection to the «Falciani List». The bank confirmed that Spanish authorities had searched its offices in Madrid and Barcelona on Wednesday. It said it turned over information pertaining to Venture Finanzas or individuals associated with that firm to authorities, which the bank continues to cooperate with.
Anti-Fraud Official Queried
The Guardia Civil also visited Margarita Garcia-Valdecasas, head of Oficina Nacional de Investigacion de Fraude, the Spanish anti-fraud authority. Garcia-Valdecasas is the wife of Calzada, the boss of Mirabaud in Spain.
Sabadell, Santander and BNP Paribas are the three other banks which have been searched by the Spanish police as part of the investigation, apart from Mirabaud.
