ZURICH (Reuters) – Former Credit Suisse chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio has been ordered to pay a fine of 2,000 Swiss francs ($2,178) after breaking COVID-19 quarantine rules, prosecutors said on Wednesday, following his resignation from the bank.
The rule-breaking was an embarrassment for the former Lloyds chief executive who left on January 17, less than nine months after he joined Credit Suisse to help it move on after a series of scandals. [L1N2TW0J0]
Horta-Osorio breached COVID-19 quarantine rules twice in 2021. In December, Reuters reported that an internal bank investigation had found Horta-Osorio attended the Wimbledon tennis finals in London in July without following Britain’s quarantine rules. [L1N2ST1R9]
The executive also broke Swiss COVID-19 rules in November by leaving the country during a 10-day quarantine period, the bank said last month. [L1N2ST1R9]
After resigning, Horta-Osorio expressed regret that his “personal actions … compromised my ability to represent the bank internally and externally”.
The penalty order was imposed by prosecutors in the Uznach district of canton St. Gallen, the Blick paper reported earlier on Wednesday. Horta-Osorio must also pay court fees.
“We can confirm the fine amount of 2000.00 Swiss francs and the fee of 350.00 Swiss francs,” St Gallen prosecutors said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. “Please note that this decision is not yet legally binding.”
Horta-Osorio accepted the ruling, a spokesperson said.
Credit Suisse declined to comment. The bank has since replaced 58-year old Horta-Osorio with Axel Lehmann, 62, who joined the bank’s board in October 2021 to become head of its risk committee.
Horta-Osorio will have earned roughly 3.5 million Swiss francs during his short stint at Credit Suisse, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters last month.
($1 = 0.9181 Swiss francs)
(This story refiles to fix typo in lead)
(Reporting by John Revill, Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi, Oliver Hirt and John O’Donnell; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
