Four bankers have appeared in a Swiss court charged with helping to hide tens of millions of francs on behalf of Vladimir Putin. The men, who had senior roles at the Swiss branch of Russia’s Gazprombank, are accused of helping Sergei Roldugin – a close friend of the Russian president who has been described as “Putin’s wallet” – to move millions through Swiss bank accounts without the proper due diligence checks. – Guardian
EY has shelved a crucial vote on breaking itself up after a backlash from partners dealt a blow to radical plans to separate the Big Four firm’s consulting and accountancy arms. The firm’s leadership sidelined plans to put the break-up proposal to a vote after a meeting of US partners on Wednesday, The Telegraph understands. Its UK partners will be updated on Thursday. – Telegraph
JP Morgan is suing former executive Jes Staley over his relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The Wall Street titan is seeking to hold Mr Staley, who later became chief executive of Barclays, personally liable for any penalties the bank may face amid claims it enabled Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes. – Telegraph
Beazley has cut the pay of two of its top executives by close to £250,000 after a financial blogger pointed out that it had used the wrong number of shares to calculate their remuneration. The FTSE 100 insurer yesterday amended the total pay packages for last year of Adrian Cox, its chief executive, and Sally Lake, finance director. – The Times
Britain’s largest employers’ group has called for legislation setting out maximum allowable payment times should the government fail to tackle slow and late settlement of commercial debt. The Federation of Small Businesses said new laws may be required to dictate the period that small suppliers’ bills must be paid within if other measures do not result in an improvement. – The Times
