Pierre Mirabaud Convicted in Kuwait Bribery Case, Given Suspended Two-Year Sentence

Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court convicted Pierre Mirabaud, the former president of the Swiss Bankers’ Association and a former Mirabaud & Cie partner, of bribing a foreign public official and aggravated money laundering. The court imposed a two-year prison sentence suspended on condition and acquitted him of a separate document-forgery charge. 12

What the court decided

The Bellinzona court upheld the facts in the federal prosecutor’s indictment in summary proceedings. Mirabaud had admitted the allegations underlying the case, which concerned payments to Fahad Al Rajaan, the former director-general of Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS). 24

The conviction covered:

• Bribery of a foreign public official
• Aggravated money laundering

He was cleared of document forgery, a distinct count from the corruption and money-laundering charges. 1

The sentence: two years, suspended

Mirabaud received a 24-month custodial sentence that was suspended, rather than an immediately executable prison term. 27

The case proceeded under an accelerated or simplified process. Reporting says that Mirabaud admitted the facts and that the court endorsed the indictment after questioning him. 24 The available material does not provide the court’s full sentencing reasons, so it does not support assigning a precise legal weight to particular factors such as remorse, retirement, cooperation, or restitution.

Payments, restitution and other financial consequences

According to the indictment cited in reporting, Mirabaud made hundreds of payments totaling CHF82.3 million—about $101.7 million—between 2000 and 2012. Prosecutors said the payments were made in exchange for PIFSS-related business worth about $595.2 million for the Geneva private bank. 724

Before the criminal judgment, reports said Mirabaud had compensated PIFSS by CHF42 million under a separate agreement. 3134 The supplied sources do not reliably establish that the court imposed an additional fine, confiscation order, or a different restitution amount as part of its judgment.

Why PIFSS is central to the case

PIFSS was the Kuwaiti public institution whose assets were placed through Mirabaud & Cie, according to the prosecution’s account. It was also the institution compensated by Mirabaud under the reported separate agreement. 731

The court case therefore connected the alleged corrupt payments directly to the acquisition of public-pension-fund investment business. By late 2012, reporting based on the case said PIFSS had roughly $595 million invested through the relevant vehicles. 37

The wider Al Rajaan and London litigation

The Mirabaud case formed part of a broader controversy around Fahad Al Rajaan and PIFSS. In separate English proceedings, PIFSS alleged that its former director-general had solicited and received bribes from financial institutions and intermediaries in return for influencing investment decisions. Those are allegations described in the Court of Appeal material, not a final determination of every alleged payment or party. 1516

Al Rajaan died in London in 2022, according to reporting on the Swiss case. 14 The supplied materials do not establish the final outcome of the wider London litigation.

What the ruling means for Mirabaud’s legacy

The decision is significant because Mirabaud was not only a former partner at the private bank bearing his family name but also a former head of Switzerland’s banking lobby. The court’s conviction formally tied a prominent figure in Geneva private banking to a long-running corruption case involving Kuwaiti public funds. 124

The ruling is also narrow in an important respect: it establishes Mirabaud’s criminal liability for foreign bribery and aggravated money laundering, while rejecting the separate forgery accusation. 1