Gérard Soisson
Encyclopedia
Gérard Soisson was a French banker who was at the center of the Clearstream Affair
. He was the person who authorized each non-published account, which would be known only by some insiders, including the auditors and members of the council of administration.
Whereas Soisson had refused numerous requests to open non-published accounts from such institutions as Chase Manhattan in New York
, Chemical Bank of London
and numerous subsidiaries of Citibank
, Cedel
opened hundreds of non-published accounts — all of them irregular — especially after the arrival of CEO André Lussi in 1990.
By 1980, Ernest Backes had become Cedel's #3, in charge of relations with clients, but he was fired in May 1983, allegedly because he "knew too much about the Ambrosiano scandal". Two months after his dismissal, Gérard Soisson was found dead in Corsica.
With Soisson out of the way, there was nothing to stop the abuse of the system, wrote Lucy Komisar. No longer were they just sub-accounts of officially listed accounts, Backes charges. Some were for banks that were not subsidiaries or even official members of Cedel.
At the start of 1995, Cedel had more than 2,200 published accounts. But in reality, according to documents obtained by Backes, Cedel that year managed more than 4,200 accounts, leading to an alleged total of 2,000 unpublished accounts in 1995.
Clearstream affair
The "Clearstream affair" was a political scandal in France in the run-up to the 2007 presidential election.The name refers to the Luxembourg bank Clearstream Banking S.A., now wholly owned by Deutsche Börse, which was alleged to have aided many prominent French politicians and companies evade taxes...
. He was the person who authorized each non-published account, which would be known only by some insiders, including the auditors and members of the council of administration.
Whereas Soisson had refused numerous requests to open non-published accounts from such institutions as Chase Manhattan in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Chemical Bank of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and numerous subsidiaries of Citibank
Citibank
Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...
, Cedel
Cedel
Cedel was a clearing company of securities. It was founded in 1971 and was owned by of 92 banks. Since July 2002 it is a division of Deutsche Börse, and known as Clearstream....
opened hundreds of non-published accounts — all of them irregular — especially after the arrival of CEO André Lussi in 1990.
By 1980, Ernest Backes had become Cedel's #3, in charge of relations with clients, but he was fired in May 1983, allegedly because he "knew too much about the Ambrosiano scandal". Two months after his dismissal, Gérard Soisson was found dead in Corsica.
With Soisson out of the way, there was nothing to stop the abuse of the system, wrote Lucy Komisar. No longer were they just sub-accounts of officially listed accounts, Backes charges. Some were for banks that were not subsidiaries or even official members of Cedel.
At the start of 1995, Cedel had more than 2,200 published accounts. But in reality, according to documents obtained by Backes, Cedel that year managed more than 4,200 accounts, leading to an alleged total of 2,000 unpublished accounts in 1995.