Private bank Lombard Odier has been fined 3mn Swiss francs ($3.7mn) for failing to prevent money laundering in relation to criminal activities of Gulnara Karimova, the 54-year-old disgraced daughter of former Uzbek president Islam Karimov.

In a July 27 ruling, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court said that Geneva-based Lombard Odier was fined for “failing to take all reasonable and necessary organizational measures” to prevent money laundering.

There is some question over the whereabouts of Karimova – Ozodlik on July 29 said it was reported that she was transferred from a women's prison in Tashkent to a penal colony in late 2024, but that this had not been officially confirmed – but her circumstances stopped a case against her from moving forward in Switzerland as it was determined that there was no possibility of her release or extradition to the country before the statute of limitations applicable to the charges expired.

Swiss prosecutors accused her of accepting bribes and running a criminal organisation called "The Office" from 2005 to 2013.

In the ruling, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court said: “The Criminal Chamber of the Swiss Federal Criminal Court has dismissed the case against Gulnara Karimova and another defendant, V., due to the existence of procedural circumstances that permanently impede the continuation of the trial. S., a former account manager at Lombard Odier Bank, was found guilty of aggravated money laundering and sentenced to 24 months in prison. The execution of this sentence was suspended in full." 

It added: "The Criminal Chamber has ordered the confiscation of assets worth more than 400 million Swiss francs located in Switzerland, obtained as a result of money laundering or under the control of a structure known as the "Office".

The ruling completely closes the case against Karimova, who denied all the charges against her.

Lombard Odier – founded in Geneva in 1796 and specialised in global wealth and asset management – said in a statement on July 27, as cited by Ozodlik, that the case commenced in 2012 after the bank itself voluntarily reported suspicious circumstances to the Swiss authorities. It said it would appeal the ruling. Effective internal controls and anti-money laundering mechanisms were in place at the time in question, it reportedly argued.

Swiss investigators claim "The Office" was used to extract bribes from telecommunications companies wanting to enter the Uzbek market.

Karimova was arrested in Uzbekistan in February 2014 and sentenced to five years in prison in 2015. Subsequently, in March 2020, Uzbekistan announced that she had been sentenced to another 13 years and four months in prison on charges of "embezzlement of state funds and the conclusion of transactions contrary to the interests of Uzbekistan, as well as extortion of property on a large scale."

The total value of assets seized in countries including France, the US and Latvia as part of the criminal investigation into Karimova has been estimated at approximately $1.4bn.