Leonteq rejects tax evasion, money laundering allegations (updated)

Leonteq AG

12/10/2022 06:24

(Adding additional information)
       ZURICH, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Leonteq  LEON.S  strongly
refutes allegations in media reports related to potential tax
evasion or money laundering by third parties, the company said
on Wednesday.
    The Swiss fintech company said internal and external
investigations had found no evidence to support the suspicions
raised.
        Its shares suffered a massive drop on Tuesday, losing as
much as a quarter of their market value, after the Financial
Times reported on unusual trading activity at the company.
  
        The FT reported on Monday that whistleblowers had
accused auditor EY of whitewashing suspicious trades, including
money laundering and tax evasion in an investigation it
conducted this year for Leonteq, a long-standing client.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N31C2CS
        "Leonteq strongly refutes these allegations, which were
first raised internally in 2021 and were thoroughly investigated
by Leonteq’s Compliance department," the company said in a
statement on Wednesday. 
  
        "This investigation found no evidence that would
corroborate the suspicions raised."
  
        The company also gave a business update, saying it was
on track to meet its previously announced guidance of exceeding
the prior year’s record group net profit of 155.7 million Swiss
francs ($156.23 million) for the full-year 2022.
  
($1 = 0.9966 Swiss francs)
 (Reporting by Noele Illien, editing by Rachel More and John
Revill)
 ((Noele.Illien@thomsonreuters.com; +41 41 528 39 73;))