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A representative of UBS Group AG said he was \u201cstunned\u201d that witnesses referred to the bank as a mafia-like organization as the French branch stands accused in Paris of harassing its former whistleblowing staffer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t work in a mafia-style company,\u201d R\u00e9gis Turrini, currently chairman of the French branch of UBS Europe, said in preliminary remarks at the stand on Wednesday. \u201cYou can\u2019t just make accusations like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turrini was speaking on behalf of the bank on the second day of a criminal trial examining allegations of harassment more than a decade ago as former staffers lifted the lid on the UBS efforts to help wealthy French dodge taxes. Turrini wasn\u2019t at the bank at the time of the allegations. UBS has denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
UBS France \u2014 as the unit was known during the investigation \u2014 is accused of sidelining and slashing the bonus of former auditor Nicolas Forissier and further suspected of penalizing St\u00e9phanie Gibaud, who had been in charge of organizing events for wealthy clients. The remarks Turrini referred to were made on Tuesday by witnesses called to testify by Forissier.<\/p>\n
The legal saga in France has been going on for more than 15 years. It culminated in a money laundering conviction for the Swiss bank as part of a separate prosecution effort that stemmed in part from the Forissier report. That case isn\u2019t entirely finished after France\u2019s top court said last year that a \u20ac1.8 billion ($1.9 billion) penalty UBS had received\u00a0should be reexamined<\/a>, opening the door to a possible cut.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Turrini tried to keep the courtroom debate focused on the harassment allegations, rather than the parallel case \u2014 where UBS France was also convicted for its role in helping Swiss bankers unlawfully recruit wealthy French prospects. But the presiding judge insisted on linking the two \u2014 twice asking him whether Forissier\u2019s efforts contributed to the conviction.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know the case file that led to the conviction,\u201d the UBS representative said. \u201cI\u2019m focused on the harassment case.\u201d<\/p>\n Forissier\u2019s lawyer, William Bourdon, later asked Turrini whether he thought his client had been right to blow the whistle.<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Forissier did what he thought he had to in good conscience. I don\u2019t know if that did the bank any favors,\u201d Turrini said. \u201cI imagine that if I\u2019d been an auditor I would have carried out my assignments to the best of my ability, and that\u2019s certainly what Mr. Forissier did.\u201d<\/p>\n Finally, Bourdon asked whether Turrini might have a word for Forissier, given the ordeal the affair has been for him.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think Nicolas Forissier is a victim in this case,\u201d the bank representative replied. Turrini said he sees no suggestion of harassment in the evidence presented against the French branch and also denied a second allegation that UBS France tried to silence Forissier.<\/p>\n The trial is scheduled to last until the middle of next week, with a ruling expected several months later.<\/p>\n