Credit Suisse surveillance of its former executive Iqbal Khan included private detectives shadowing his wife. His two school-age children are also mentioned in surveillance reports.

According to the Le Matin Dimanche paper, which managed to get hold of the 17-page surveillance report, the detectives took photos and recorded movements of third parties. The images of non-bankers - such as family members, gardeners and restaurant owners - were not blurred nor were their identities protected in the report.

Car licence plates of those who came in contact with Khan were also recorded. Zurich's chief data protection officer told Le Matin Dimanche that the inclusion of details of ‘innocent' third parties violated privacy regulations.

It has since emerged that Credit Suisse had at least one other of its top executives - Peter Goerke - also tailed. The Swiss bank found its former operating chief Pierre-Olivier Bouée, singlehandedly coordinated the surveillance, for which it sacked him.

Chairman Urs Rohner acknowledged that the sordid spy scandal had damaged the reputation of the bank and the Swiss financial centre.

Neighbours as well as work colleagues reportedly that Iqbal Khan and chief executive Tidjane Thiam clashed over some trees that Khan had planted which Thiam claimed were on his property. Khan later announced he was leaving for arch rival UBS and it subsequently emerged that Bouée had hired private detectives to trail the former wealth boss for fear he may try to poach his Credit Suisse clients.

The spat between the two Credit Suisse bankers, now appears to involve more than some trees on their shared property line, according to Swiss weekly SonntagsZeitung (in German). The outlet reported that private banker Khan felt the CEO's behavior towards him warranted police notification, Finews wrote.

After the January confrontation, Khan considered a criminal complaint against Thiam, but stopped short of doing - though he did discuss the incident with Credit Suisse Chairman Urs Rohner. The chairman mediated a peace treaty between the two bankers - which led Khan to drop any plan of involving police.

The scandal triggered an investigation by Switzerland's bank watchdog into Credit Suisse's conduct and criminal proceedings in Zurich.

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