Swiss fintech Leonteq strongly refutes recent whistleblower allegations of money laundering and tax evasion. It also gave an update on its business.
An article published by the «Financial Times» (behind paywall) on Monday said that whistleblowers made allegations of money laundering and tax fraud against Leonteq and that its auditor EY which conducted a special investigation of the Swiss fintech was not sufficiently independent.
The allegations revolved around two products issued by Leonteq and distributed by a company based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), «vaguely referring to potential tax evasion or money laundering by third parties», Leonteq said in a statement Wednesday.
Strongly Refutes Allegations
«Leonteq strongly refutes these allegations, which were first raised internally in 2021 and were thoroughly investigated by Leonteq’s Compliance department. This investigation found no evidence that would corroborate the suspicions raised», Leonteq said. It went on to say that it has a «strict zero-tolerance policy regarding non-compliant business behavior».
Special Investigation
In addition to the internal investigation, the company's board of directors mandated that an independent EY team carry out a special investigation. In March of this year, Leonteq changed auditors, and the decision to commission EY was related to Leonteq’s ongoing tender process to renew its external audit mandate, replacing PricewaterhouseCoopers. This was done «in order not to conflict with...
Unfortunately, Gregg Phillips’ claims that he was twice teleported from one place to another aren’t the biggest problems for this top government official with a long history of shady deals, charit...