Whistleblowers have accused EY of whitewashing suspicions of money laundering and tax evasion in an investigation it conducted this year for longstanding client Leonteq.
At the heart of the whistleblower complaints are two trades that the company, a listed fintech that designs bespoke investment products, created for a French workers co-operative society at the start of 2021.
The whistleblowers said the trades should have been reported to French authorities as suspect on grounds of potential money laundering and tax evasion, after it was discovered that large commissions were routed to a British Virgin Islands company instead of the broker in France that sold the investments on Leonteq’s behalf.