Pierin Vincenz, ‘Banker of the Year’, Says $200,000 + Spending at the Strip Club is a Legit ‘Business’

A Swiss financier who was once named “banker of the year” clearly had a somewhat loose definition of what constitutes a legitimate business expense.

Pierin Vincenz, 65, who appeared in court on charges of corruption and illegal trafficking with six others on Tuesday in Zurich, claimed strip clubs and $4,500 in one-room repair fees The luxury hotel — which he messed up in an uncharacteristic mess with a stripper — is part of the daily routine, as it were.

Vincenz, who used to work for elite Swiss lender Raiffeisen, is accused of pocketing millions of dollars through illegal and fraudulent transactions. The former banker also claimed that the $217,675 the company paid to strip clubs was legitimately related to the business and a $760 dinner he treated to a woman he didn’t know. he met on Tinder was actually a job interview. Another expense, listed at $30,000, is instead for a private jet and cooking classes in Mallorca, local media reported.

The dramatic trial attracted so much attention in Switzerland that the court decided to hold the hearings at the Volkshaus Theater to make room for the audience.

When asked by one of the presiding judges if he understood the charges, Vincenz attempted to explain that negligent accounting had resulted in a number of expenses inadvertently being listed as business-related when they are personal. He also sought to tie many after-hours parties with legitimate daytime events that he said he was representing his bosses. “Related to [visits] going to bars and nightclubs, I totally think these things make sense for the business,” he said, according to Reuters. “There are individual invoices that appear on the tab related to business trips, [should have been] private, but overall, these have been justified by my business. “

One judge sought to clarify his position. “Do I correctly understand your statement that, when you go alone to a pub, there are always business people present and every invitation is made for the business benefit of Raifeissen?” asked by the judge, Vincenz replied, “I don’t feel I’ve done anything criminal here.”

Vincenz and six of his other associates on trial — who all deny the charges — are being charged with enrichment, fraud and mismanagement of company funds between 2006 and 2017. The men He faces six years in prison and could pay about $77 million. compensation if convicted.