The FCA has permanently banned Andrew Pearse and Surjan Singh from working in the UK financial services industry.

The former Credit Suisse managing directors were banned after being found to lack integrity, following their US convictions for orchestrating corrupt loans to the Republic of Mozambique.

In July 2019, Andrew Pearse pleaded guilty in the US to conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud. His role involved accepting over $45 million in unlawful kickbacks related to the loans.

In September 2019, Surjan Singh also pleaded guilty in the US to conspiracy to commit money laundering, admitting to receiving $5.7 million in illegal kickbacks.

The loans, arranged by Credit Suisse for the Republic of Mozambique and totaling $1.3 billion, were marred by corruption. In October 2021, the FCA fined Credit Suisse more than £145 million as part of a $475 million global settlement for serious financial crime due diligence failures. The FCA also secured an agreement for the bank to write off $200 million of Mozambique’s debt.

Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, stated:

“Mr. Pearse and Mr. Singh were senior executives at Credit Suisse who admitted to receiving over $50 million in kickbacks. There is no place in our markets for those who engage in bribery and corruption.”