Swiss private bank has Cayman Islands licence revoked

The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (Cima) has revoked the licence of Hinduja Bank & Trust (Cayman).

The financial regulator wrote a letter to Hinduja Bank’s Cayman operation on 28 May 2020 to confirm the action it had taken.

It stated four reasons why the bank’s licence had been revoked.

Cima said:

The bank is or is likely to be unable to meet its obligations as they fall due;

The bank contravened the law and the anti-money laundering regulations;

The direction of the bank’s business has not been conducted in a fit and proper manner; and

Gilbert Pfaeffli “is not a fit and proper person to hold the position of director of a licensee”.

The licence was revoked on 22 May 2020.

International Adviser contacted the firm about the decision, but the bank did not reply ahead of publication.

Previous warning

Cima had also sent a warning notice to the bank on 21 January 2020 about the issues it faced.

The regulator said at the time that the bank was in breach of several procedures in the Bank and Trust Companies Law (2020 Revision).

Also, that Hinduja Bank & Trust (Cayman) was in breach of several protocols in the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations (2020 Revision).

Operation

Hinduja Bank (Switzerland), which is part of the Indian firm Hinduja Group, was established in 1994 and offers private banking and wealth management services to high net worth individuals and institutions.

With its headquarters in Geneva, Hinduja Bank developed its network in Switzerland with Zurich, Lucerne, Lugano, Basle and St Margrethen offices and its global reach with operations in Dubai, London, Paris, New York, Chennai, Mumbai and Mauritius.

The Hinduja brothers, owners of the Hinduja Group, were recently in the 2020 Sunday Times Rich List with a net worth of £22bn ($27.8bn,€24.56bn).