Switzerland's attorney general has been investigating UBS since 2017 for suspected money laundering by a Yemeni client, believed to be strawmen for former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The Swiss bank transferred to Singapore $65 million on behalf of the Yemeni clients, who were on a United Nations sanctions list, Swiss investigative website «Gotham City» (behind paywall, in French) reported.

Saleh, veteran former president of Yemen, was killed in a roadside attack nearly three years ago. He repeatedly denied corruption allegations before his death. «Gotham City» reported that UBS notched a win in the case: a Swiss court ordered three sealed binders of client information to be returned to the bank.

UBS Lapse?

The ruling is based on an error by Swiss prosecutors, who filed a request to unseal one day too late. «Gotham City» reported that in fact, the mistake is due to UBS' failure to report suspicious transactions to a Swiss anti-money laundering office.

By 2017, Swiss financial regulator Finma got involved, after Switzerland's attorney general opened a probe. In 2019, prosecutors seized documents with client data on the transactions which UBS had previously successfully had sealed.