Ex-Swiss Banker Pierre Mirabaud Gets Suspended Term in Kuwait Bribery Case
Pierre Mirabaud received a suspended two-year sentence for bribing a Kuwaiti official to secure business for his bank.
A former senior partner at the Swiss private bank Mirabaud & Cie has been handed a suspended two-year prison sentence after admitting to paying tens of millions in bribes. The verdict was delivered on Tuesday at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, with proceedings concluding in just half a day.
Pierre Mirabaud, who led the Swiss Bankers Association from 2003 to 2009, was accused of making hundreds of payments totaling 82.3 million Swiss francs ($101.7 million) to a Kuwaiti government official between 2000 and 2012. In exchange, the official allegedly brought business worth $595.2 million to the bank.
Prosecutors noted that Mirabaud, now 77, was aware of the risks associated with the payments and accepted the potential consequences. The court considered his age, lack of prior convictions, and cooperation with investigators when deciding on the sentence. Under Swiss law, sentences are typically suspended when there is no perceived risk of repeat offending.
The Kuwaiti official, who has since died, was previously convicted in absentia in Kuwait on charges of corruption and embezzling public funds. Mirabaud retired from the bank in 2009 but continued as a consultant until 2012.
Bank Mirabaud, founded in Geneva in 1819, is not a party to the case. Separately, Swiss financial regulator FINMA confiscated 12.7 million francs from the bank in 2024 over violations related to money-laundering obligations. The regulator's investigation concerned business relationships that at times represented nearly 10% of the bank's assets under management.