Soc Gen Chairman Seeks To Reassure Clients

by Carla Johnson, Investors Offshore.com

30 January 2002

The Chairman of French bank Societe Generale wrote to account holders at the weekend to reassure them of the integrity of the bank's management and staff members.

Daniel Bouton, along with several other top-level executives, was placed under investigation on January 14th as part of a probe into a money laundering network which allegedly existed between France and Israel. According to reports, investigators believe that suspect cheques were written in the name of fictitious companies who obtained the money by chearing insurance companies and issuing false invoices.

However, Societe Generale has protested that it was only implicated in the investigation because cheques involved in the case passed through its clearing operations as a result of correspondent banking relationships in Israel.

'The vital point is that Societe Generale has participated actively for years with the authorities in the fight against money laundering, deploying every means at its disposal,' M. Bouton explained to the bank's clients.

He concluded the letter by saying that: 'It seems every bit as important that I make clear that there is nothing in the inquiry in question to suggest that any member or service of the bank could have been deliberately involved in money laundering or wittingly served as an accomplice. There is nothing that undermines the personal integrity of the staff and managers of Societe Generale.'

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