Sanctioned Swiss financier adds to scrutiny on UK payment firms

Arne Treholt, right, under arrest for espionage in Oslo, on Jan. 23, 1984.Source: NTB/Alamy

LONDON: When Anselm Schmucki took over a tiny UK payments firm in 2019 and relinquished control in March this year, few paid much attention. But the little-known Swiss financier is now under intense scrutiny.

Weeks after Schmucki sold all his shares in London-based Paystree Ltd, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) sanctioned him and more than a dozen businesses allegedly under his control.