CBH Bank

CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique SA is a Swiss brokerage firm. In 1991, it obtained a full banking license in Switzerland. As of 2025, the group employs approximately 350 people. The current Chief Executive Officer is Simon Benhamou. The bank is based in Geneva, in the Canton of Geneva, and specializes in private banking and asset management.

The bank is owned by the Benhamou family. It serves an UHNW and institutional clientele and pays particular attention to developing banking relationships with very high-net-worth clients, mainly located in Switzerland[1], Israel[2][3][4], Asia[5][6], as well as

Controversies and media

Reputation "clean up" with Eliminalia

According to the story killers project,[25] CBH Bank paid just under 229,000 euros to Eliminalia (a spanish reputation manager[26]) — after hiring one of its partners, ReputationUp — to take down content linking it to offshore companies and money laundering charges.

U.S. Venezuela corruption investigation

CBH Bank is related in Venezuela[27] corruption cases but without strong evidence.[28] US investigators, after obtaining bank reports, alleged that CBH Bank is being used to launder the proceeds of the fraud and the embezzlement scheme by figures in Venezuela, though CBH themselves is defrauded on the scheme. CBH stated they didn't know about any money laundering activities, and complied with all laws and regulations.[29]

Switzerland’s financial regulator [30] reprimanded CBH Bank[31] for failing to fight money laundering[32] in servicing wealthy Venezuelan offshore clients.[33] Swiss National Councillor Prisca Birrer-Heimo criticized CBH Bank's risk management demanding immediate regulation changes.[34]

Kazakhstan corruption investigation

Payments from Kazakh oligarchs lead to a complaint of suspected money laundering filed with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority Finma.[35] A Geneva-based private bank is in the spotlight – not for the first time, Sonntagszeitung reports.[36] The case concerns highly suspicious transactions [37] associated to a clan of Kazakh oligarch Akhmetzhan Yessimov.[38]

CBH is mentioned in an article of newspaper The Telegraph about Aliya Nazarbayeva, the youngest daughter of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the first President of Kazakhstan.[39] Indeed the article relates the saying of Alya Nazarbayeva during a London high court hearing against her former personal financial advisor whom she accuses of wrongdoing. Among other accusations, she stated that allegedly under his recommendation she directed him to seek the purchase of a 51% stake

Florian Homm

Absolute Capital Management (ACM), a hedge fund managed by Florian Homm, once reached a volume of up to three billion US dollars, but collapsed in 2007. Investors are said to have lost 200 million US dollars. Charged with investment fraud in the U.S., he disappeared in 2007. After his resignation, Florian Homm was accused by the remaining management of his company of having valued many of the assets much higher than their actual value.[42] His wife withdrew money from CBH Bank accounts.[43]

CBH Bahamas

CBH's “serious error and negligence”[44] resulted in fraudsters plundering more than $2m from one of its client’s accounts, Bahamas' Supreme Court revealed. Justice Ian Winder, in a May 12, 2022, ruling blasted CBH Bahamas for “failing to exercise the requisite due care and skill expected” when it failed to detect signs it was communicating with criminals.[45]

Venezuela-Gold Ingots story

In a story August 3, 2020, about a Venezuelan official allegedly hiding unexplained wealth by buying gold, The Associated Press erroneously reported some financial information about the Banco CBH. The bank's assets under management for clients located in Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for 19% of its business last year. AP corrected the story and specified that Banco CBH has no relationship with what was written in the wrong news.[46]

founder	Joseph Benhamou (from 2004)
foundation	1975
location	Boulevard Emile-Jaques-Dalcroze 7, Geneva, Switzerland
area served	Global
key people	Simon Benhamou (CEO)
industry	Financial services
products	private banking asset management
assets	CHF 16.3 billion (31.12.2024)
num employees	approx. 350 (As of 2025)
homepage	https://cbhbank.com

History

Corporate name, legal form and head office

Services