Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Wednesday, Nov 12, 2025

Credit Suisse leak reportedly shows dictators, pop star’s killer among clients

Credit Suisse leak reportedly shows dictators, pop star’s killer among clients

A massive leak at Credit Suisse has reportedly revealed that the bank counts dictators, a political crony who paid a hitman to kill his pop star girlfriend, and a drug trafficker among its clients.

The Zurich-based lender, which manages assets totaling $1.77 trillion, was targeted by a whistleblower who leaked information on its accounts to German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

The newspaper shared it with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and 46 other news organizations including the New York Times, Britain’s Guardian and France’s Le Monde.

The Panama Papers-style investigations published Sunday revealed that some of the world’s worst war criminals used Switzerland’s notoriously strict privacy laws to hide vast sums of money.

These funds were reportedly pillaged from their respective countries, most of them in the developing world.

Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, the Filipino ruling couple who are believed to have stolen as much as $10 billion from public coffers during their reign, were helped by the bank to hide the funds, according to the Guardian.

The Swiss lender also helped Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos steal billions of dollars during their 20-year reign over the Philippines, according to documents leaked by a whistleblower.
Cronies of the late Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak opened several accounts with Credit Suisse where they hid hundreds of millions of dollars, according to documents.
Jordan’s King Abdullah, who rules over one of the world’s most impoverished countries, is believed to hold hundreds of millions of dollars in several Credit Suisse accounts.

A lawyer convicted of helping Marcos launder money in 1992 was still able to open an account with Credit Suisse around eight years later, according to the report.

The lawyer, Helen Rivilla, and her husband, Antonio, held around $5 million with the bank before their accounts were closed in 2006.

The sons of the late Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, who ruled the country for three decades until he was forced out of office in 2011, reportedly stashed more than $187 million in a joint account managed by Credit Suisse.

A Mubarak crony, Egyptian billionaire Hisham Talaat Moustafa, was allowed to keep an account as recently as 2014 even though he had been convicted of paying $2 million to a former cop in order to kill his girlfriend, the Lebanese pop star Suzanne Tamim, according to the investigation.

The singer was found decapitated in her Dubai apartment in July 2008.

Lebanese pop star Suzanne Tamim was murdered in 2008 by her boyfriend in Dubai.
Credit Suisse said the allegations are “predominantly historical” and that “the accounts of these matters are based on partial, inaccurate, or selective information taken out of context.”

Jordanian King Abdullah and his wife, Queen Rania, the monarchs who rule over one of the poorest countries in the world, opened as many as six accounts with Credit Suisse. Just one account is believed to hold an estimated $245 million.

Credit Suisse said in a statement that it “strongly rejects the allegations and insinuations about the bank’s purported business practices.”

Credit Suisse said the allegations are “predominantly historical” and that “the accounts of these matters are based on partial, inaccurate, or selective information taken out of context, resulting in tendentious interpretations of the bank’s business conduct.”

The bank said it had reviewed a large number of accounts potentially associated with the allegations, and about 90% of them “are today closed or were in the process of closure prior to receipt of the press inquiries, of which over 60% were closed before 2015.”

Sueddeutsche Zeitung said it received the data anonymously through a secure digital mailbox over a year ago. It said it’s unclear whether the source was an individual or a group, and the newspaper didn’t make any payment or promises.


Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Cristiano Ronaldo Embraces Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup Vision with Key Role
Saudi Arabia’s Execution Campaign Escalates as Crown Prince Readies U.S. Visit
Trump Unveils Middle East Reset: Syria Re-engaged, Saudi Ties Amplified
Saudi Arabia to Build Future Cities Designed with Tourists in Mind, Says Tourism Minister
Saudi Arabia Advances Regulated Stablecoin Plans with Global Crypto Exchange Support
Saudi Arabia Maintains Palestinian State Condition Ahead of Possible Israel Ties
Chinese Steel Exports Surge 41% to Saudi Arabia as Mills Pivot Amid Global Trade Curbs
Saudi Arabia’s Biban Forum 2025 Secures Over US$10 Billion in Deals Amid Global SME Drive
Saudi Arabia Sets Pre-Conditions for Israel Normalisation Ahead of Trump Visit
MrBeast’s ‘Beast Land’ Arrives in Riyadh as Part of Riyadh Season 2025
Cristiano Ronaldo Asserts Saudi Pro League Outperforms Ligue 1 Amid Scoring Feats
AI Researchers Claim Human-Level General Intelligence Is Already Here
Saudi Arabia Pauses Major Stretch of ‘The Line’ Megacity Amid Budget Re-Prioritisation
Saudi Arabia Launches Instant e-Visa Platform for Over 60 Countries
Dick Cheney, Former U.S. Vice President, Dies at 84
Saudi Crown Prince to Visit Trump at White House on November Eighteenth
Trump Predicts Saudi Arabia Will Normalise with Israel Ahead of 18 November Riyadh Visit
Entrepreneurial Momentum in Saudi Arabia Shines at Riyadh Forward 2025 Summit
Saudi Arabia to Host First-Ever International WrestleMania in 2027
Saudi Arabia to Host New ATP Masters Tournament from 2028
Trump Doubts Saudi Demand for Palestinian State Before Israel Normalisation
Viral ‘Sky Stadium’ for Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup Debunked as AI-Generated
Deal Between Saudi Arabia and Israel ‘Virtually Impossible’ This Year, Kingdom Insider Says
Saudi Crown Prince to Visit Washington While Israel Recognition Remains Off-Table
Saudi Arabia Poised to Channel Billions into Syria’s Reconstruction as U.S. Sanctions Linger
Smotrich’s ‘Camels’ Remark Tests Saudi–Israel Normalisation Efforts
Saudi Arabia and Qatar Gain Structural Edge in Asian World Cup Qualification
Israeli Energy Minister Delays $35 Billion Gas Export Agreement with Egypt
Fincantieri and Saudi Arabia Agree to Build Advanced Maritime Ecosystem in Kingdom
Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN Accelerates AI Ambitions Through Major Partnerships and Infrastructure Push
IOC and Saudi Arabia End Ambitious 12-Year Esports Games Partnership
CSL Seqirus Signs Saudi Arabia Pact to Provide Cell-Based Flu Vaccines and Build Local Production
Qualcomm and Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN Team Up to Deploy 200 MW AI Infrastructure
Saudi Arabia’s Economy Expands Five Percent in Third Quarter Amid Oil Output Surge
China’s Vice President Han Zheng Meets Saudi Crown Prince as Trade Concerns Loom
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
×