Receiving threatening emails is a distressing ordeal, as experienced by Tidjane Thiam, the former CEO of Credit Suisse. In 2016, he faced a barrage of hostile messages from a former Prudential employee, which included disturbing insults and threats. This individual not only harassed Thiam but also targeted his colleagues, leading to legal actions and surveillance measures. The situation escalated into an online vendetta, raising significant concerns for Thiam’s safety and prompting extensive security precautions during his tenure.
Receiving threatening emails is an experience no one wishes to endure. In this case, the former CEO of Credit Suisse, Tidjane Thiam, was subjected to a barrage of harsh insults and disturbing threats. Among the alarming messages was a mention of an impending “grave,” which is just a glimpse into the severity of the language used by the sender. There are additional emails filled with such extreme threats and derogatory remarks that we have chosen not to disclose their content.
A Flood of Hostile Emails
According to sources familiar with the situation, Thiam received numerous hostile emails throughout 2016. The individual behind these messages was a former employee of Prudential, a British insurance firm where Thiam worked before joining Credit Suisse as CEO.
This harasser targeted not just Thiam but also several associates within his circle, including Pierre-Olivier Bouée and Peter Goerke, both of whom had been part of Prudential’s executive team. Bouée served as the Chief Risk Officer while Goerke held the position of Chief Human Resources Officer. Both executives transitioned to Credit Suisse alongside Thiam when he began his role on July 1, 2015.
The stalker escalated the situation by launching an online vendetta, creating false profiles of Thiam on various dubious platforms, which led to Thiam receiving unsolicited newsletters from adult websites.
A witness recalled a video that briefly appeared on YouTube, where the stalker performed a hate song about Thiam while playing a bongo drum.
Whistleblower Claims to Finma
The harassment did not cease even after Thiam’s relocation from London to Zurich. Disturbingly, the individual sent a letter to the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma), alleging that Credit Suisse was now led by “a criminal boss.”
Finma treated the email as a tip from a potential whistleblower and reached out to the British regulatory body. However, the inquiries reportedly led nowhere, with the Swiss regulator concluding that the individual exhibited signs of instability, as noted by an observer. In response, Thiam instructed Credit Suisse to initiate surveillance of the stalker in England in October 2016. Additionally, a British law firm took action on behalf of Credit Suisse to combat the harassment, as the emails had escalated to a level that caused Thiam significant concern. It was revealed that the stalker had a background in the military, having served in either Afghanistan or Iraq, and he described himself as “Afghan and ex-Soviet,” claiming to be violent.
Finma later revisited the case as part of a non-public report linked to a broader surveillance scandal that emerged in late 2019. It was during this period that it became public knowledge that Credit Suisse had been monitoring not only Iqbal Khan, the former head of international wealth management, but also Human Resources Chief Goerke, who had previously worked with Thiam at Prudential.
Upon inquiry, Finma only referenced its press release from October 2021 regarding its investigation report. The current owner of Credit Suisse, UBS, remains tight-lipped about the situation.
The Stalker: A Troubling Background
Was the stalker simply a disturbed individual struggling to cope with his dismissal, or was there a deeper issue at play? The individual in question, whose name is known to the editorial team, was reportedly a former security specialist at Prudential, working under Risk Chief Bouée, who had transitioned to Credit Suisse with Thiam.
At Prudential, as per insider information, he was designated as the “man for sensitive cases,” engaging in particularly delicate tasks such as monitoring individuals or discreetly gathering information about them. The specific assignments that led this security professional to become a stalker remain unclear, as Prudential has declined to comment.
Eventually, it appears an internal investigation was conducted for reasons that remain undisclosed, resulting in the termination of the security professional and possibly others in his team. The reasons for this action are also unknown.
What is evident, however, is that upon losing his job, the security employee lost his composure and directed his anger towards Thiam, Bouée, and Goerke, accusing them of betrayal. In an email to Thiam, he expressed his disbelief that “you would throw us to the wolves.”
A spokesperson for Thiam chose not to comment on the matter. Nonetheless, a source familiar with the situation indicated that British authorities had initiated a criminal investigation against the former Prudential employee, but the case did not advance to court due to the individual’s unfortunate passing prior to legal proceedings. The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear, but authorities deemed it unremarkable.
Thiam’s Ongoing Concerns for Safety
The Prudential incident marked the first instance of surveillance commissioned by Thiam during his tenure as CEO at Credit Suisse. Shortly after, in November 2016, he initiated another surveillance operation concerning his partner’s ex-husband, as he felt threatened by this individual. Although the planned surveillance took place in Hong Kong and later Zurich, it was ultimately called off due to reputational concerns. This situation gained public attention when the ex-husband filed a lawsuit against Credit Suisse and UBS in the U.S. for $15 million in damages.
Could the Prudential case have contributed to Thiam’s heightened need for security at Credit Suisse? Throughout his leadership from July 2015 to February 2020, Thiam and his team relied significantly more on external security personnel and bodyguards compared to other Credit Suisse CEOs. The Finma report revealed that between 2016 and 2019, a total of seven surveillance operations were planned and largely executed at Credit Suisse.
An article from “NZZ am Sonntag”