Credit Suisse contractor who hired a spy to trail a former top banker is reportedly dead by suicide
- A lawyer representing security business Investigo says that the Credit Suisse contractor who hired the firm to investigate a former top executive, Iqbal Khan, is dead by suicide, according to a Bloomberg report on Monday.
- The contractor hired investigators from Investigo to look into Khan, Credit Suisse's former star banker, after he moved to co-head rival bank UBS's wealth management department.
- Credit Suisse reportedly worried Khan would convince other employees to join him, according to Bloomberg. Khan will begin working for UBS on Tuesday.
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A lawyer representing security business Investigo says that the Credit Suisse contractor who hired the firm to investigate a former top executive, Iqbal Khan, is dead by suicide, according to a Bloomberg report on Monday.
The Credit Suisse contractor killed himself on Tuesday, Thomas Fingerhurth, the lawyer for security firm Investigo, reportedly said. Inside Paradeplatz, a Swiss business blog, first reported on the death.
The contractor hired Investigo investigators to look into Khan, Credit Suisse's former star banker, after he moved to co-head rival bank UBS's wealth management department. Credit Suisse reportedly worried Khan would convince other employees to join him, according to Bloomberg. Khan will begin working for UBS on Tuesday.
Investigo was reportedly instructed to take photographs of Khan and identify people he met but advised not to get too close to him or break any laws.
On September 17, Khan was said to have noticed he was being surveilled and approached an investigator in his car. Khan confronted the lone investigator and attempted to take photographs of him using a cell phone, Investigo claimed, according to Bloomberg. The investigator blocked the picture using his hands and went away.
But Khan claimed that after he noticed three men following him and his wife, the men reportedly attempted to take his phone away from him, leading to a physical altercation.
Several people suspected of the pursuit were reportedly arrested after Khan filed a complaint, according to Swiss media.
In an internal memo, Credit Suisse reportedly claimed that the media's reporting of the confrontations were inaccurate and described it as "sensationalized," Bloomberg reported. Investigo reportedly claimed in a memo to Credit Suisse that its employee acted alone and "defensively" in the encounter with Khan.
According to news reports, Khan and Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam had an argument during a house party in Zurich. Khan was reportedly overlooked for a promotion after the Credit Suisse underwent reorganization, prompting him to leave the firm five months later, Bloomberg reported.
Credit Suisse said it would support Thiam amid the internal investigation into the matter.