He was considered a model in the fight against money laundering, but René Brülhart himself found himself before the courts. The former Vatican financial expert has been acquitted in Zurich accusations of corruption.
The Swiss René Brülhart is a hunter of internationally renowned silver laundryers; German media even nicknamed him The “James Bond of Finance”. He became known when he was called in 2012 by the Pope as an advisor to the Vatican, where he chaired the financial supervisory authority from 2014 to 2019.
But this specialist in the fight against money laundering himself found himself in the Zurich court. He was accused of corruption and violation of banking secrecyas reported by several Swiss newspapers. According to the prosecutor quoted by theAargauer ZeitungRené Brülhart would have been part of a “well -established corruption system” involving police, intelligence and other officials “.
The latter has gathered information on people on behalf of customers. He called on a German, former spy of the GDR. She did not only work for René Brülhart and was sentenced to Germany for welding police officers and civil servants.
René Brülhart, however, managed to convince the court that he was not aware of the illegal methods used by his partner. In addition, it has not been proven that confidential data had been exchanged in business concerning him.