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Credit Suisse COO steps down over spying affair; CEO cleared

Credit Suisse Group AG COO Pierre-Olivier Bouée has resigned, effective immediately, after taking responsibility for the decision to spy on the Swiss lender's former wealth management head, Iqbal Khan.

Swiss law firm Homburger's investigation into the matter found that Bouée ordered the group's head of global security services to observe Khan following his appointment at rival UBS Group AG. Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger previously identified the security head as Remo Boccali, according to Bloomberg News.

Bouée said he acted alone and looked to protect the interests of Credit Suisse in deciding to initiate the observation of Khan, and that he did not discuss the decision with any other executives and directors of the bank. Credit Suisse's board described the move as "wrong and disproportionate" and has resulted in "severe reputational damage" to the lender.

Credit Suisse said the probe did not find any indication that CEO Tidjane Thiam approved the move nor that he was aware of it prior to Sept. 18, after the observation was aborted. Thiam is said to have had a personal dispute with Khan, which the latter reported to the board prior to his departure in July.

In addition, neither the investigation nor the observation of Khan found evidence that he tried to poach employees or clients away from Credit Suisse, it noted.

Following Bouée's resignation, Credit Suisse appointed James Walker to replace him as COO. Walker currently serves in several senior roles in the group's finance organization, including as CFO of the bank's key U.S. units and head of product control.

Credit Suisse's head of global security services has also resigned following the investigation, effective immediately.

Several Credit Suisse shareholders and investors recently expressed support for the bank in light of the scandal, with Eminence Capital LP CEO Ricky Sandler saying that losing any senior executive over the issue would be an "unfortunate outcome" for stakeholders.

Meanwhile, a Credit Suisse contractor who hired private detectives to follow Khan died Sept. 24 after committing suicide, Bloomberg News reported, citing Thomas Fingerhurth, a lawyer for Investigo, the private investigative firm the contractor hired to trail Khan.