UBS, Credit Suisse Face U.S. DOJ Probe Over Russian Sanctions Evasion; Stock Dips

(RTTNews) - Shares of UBS Group AG (UBS) were losing nearly 4 percent in Swiss trading as well as in pre-market activity on the NYSE after Bloomberg reported that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the Swiss banking major as well as its recently acquired Credit Suisse Group over Russian sanctions evasion.

The DOJ has stepped up its probe over suspected compliance failures that allowed Russian clients to evade sanctions, the report said citing people familiar with the matter.

The full-scale early stage investigation is focused on Credit Suisse over alleged exposure to sanctions violations. As per the report, the DOJ has informed US-based lawyers for UBS about the issues since the acquisition in June. The probe covers restrictions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as well as previous rounds put in place following its 2014 annexation of Crimea.

The DOJ is also looking into possible compliance failures at UBS, the report said. The DOJ has sought further information about how the banks handled the accounts of sanctioned clients over the past several years.

In Switzerland, UBS Group shares were trading at 22.21 euros, down 3.5 percent. In pre-market activity on the NYSE, the shares were trading at $24.17, down 3.6 percent.