Johannes Rüegg-Stürm, the current chairman of Raiffeisen Schweiz Genossenschaft, has resigned with immediate effect and will be replaced by Pascal Gantenbein, who will hold the chairman's position on an interim basis, the Swiss cooperative bank said March 8.
The reason for Rüegg-Stürm's resignation is the recent investigation launched by the Zurich public prosecutor's office against Raiffeisen Schweiz's former CEO Pierin Vincenz and the ongoing investigation by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or FINMA, into Raiffeisen Schweiz itself, the bank said.
Zurich prosecutors launched a probe over alleged breach of trust against Vincenz linked to payments made by investment firms Aduno Holding AG and Investnet AG at the end of February. Vincenz sat on the boards of both companies but has meanwhile resigned.
The probe against Vincenz resulted in his arrest in late February and has put the current CEO Patrik Gisel under enormous pressure from politicians and the public, Tages Anzeiger reported. Both men have stated they were misled and were not aware of the extent of Vincenz' dealings until the time of his arrest. Rüegg-Stürm's resignation is expected to ease some of the pressure on Gisel, who was previously chairman of the board of Investnet AG, a private equity firm previously owned by Raiffeisen Schweiz and involved in the Vincenz affair.
Raiffeisen Schweiz has also joined the investigation as a private complainant and has announced plans to lodge a criminal complaint against Vincenz and other individuals that may be involved in the matter.
Last year FINMA launched enforcement proceedings against Vincenz but dropped the investigation in December 2017, as Vincenz agreed to give up all managerial roles he held in FINMA-regulated companies.
Vincenz resigned as CEO of Raiffeisen Schweiz in September 2015. Raiffeisen Schweiz sold its majority stake in Investnet AG to its minority shareholders.
Raiffeisen Schweiz' withdrawal from Investnet AG was prompted by a FINMA investigation into alleged misconduct at the bank itself.
