The daughter of the former president of Uzbekistan is on trial in Switzerland for money laundering

The Swiss Federal Criminal Court has begun hearing the case against Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of the former president of Uzbekistan, and Lombard Odier Bank on charges of money laundering. Prosecutors allege that the defendant led a criminal organization that laundered hundreds of millions of dollars received as bribes from telecommunications companies through dozens of shell accounts. 

Reuters reports on the details of the trial, which began on Monday.

Lombard Odier and its former employee are suspected of aiding in the concealment of proceeds from the “Uzbek princess’s” illegal activities between 2005 and 2013. According to the Swiss prosecutor’s office, Karimova used her status as a civil servant and representative of Uzbekistan to the UN to extort funds in exchange for access to the country’s market. Currently, the bank and the defendant herself, who is already serving a 13-year sentence in Uzbekistan for corruption, deny all charges.

As part of the case, the Swiss Attorney General’s Office has brought charges of breach of trust and passive corruption, pointing to systemic organizational shortcomings at the bank in preventing money laundering. The trial concerns more than 30 bank accounts through which funds were transferred under the guise of business activities. The duration of the trial and the date of the final verdict have not yet been determined by the Swiss authorities. Coverage of this case is significant in the context of the global fight against corrupt networks, which are often used by Russian officials to circumvent international sanctions.