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| - Greenpeace on Thursday condemned Credit Suisse following reports it had spied on the campaign group in the latest twist in a series of revelations that have rocked the bank. "Spying on organisations and individuals who are critical is particularly reprehensible," Iris Menn, head of the Swiss branch of Greenpeace, said in a statement. "We call on Credit Suisse to take its climate responsibilities instead of opposing the climate movement," she added, calling on the lender to divest itself of all investments in hydrocarbons. The bank faces a scandal that first emerged in September with press reports that it had spied on the former head of wealth management, Iqbal Khan, after he announced a move to Swiss rival UBS. The bank ordered an internal investigation and in October announced the resignation with immediate effect of its chief operating officer, Pierre-Olivier Bouee. The investigation found that the high-ranking executive, who is considered close to chief executive Tidjane Thiam, had ordered the spying on his own initiative. In December the bank admitted its former head of human resources, Peter Goerke, had also been followed for "several days" by private detectives hired by Bouee. The SonntagsZeitung newspaper on Sunday reported that Bouee had also ordered surveillance on Greenpeace, including accessing militants' emails, to try to find out when they were planning demonstrations against the bank. In 2017, Greenpeace gatecrashed the bank's annual general meeting, with demonstrators unfurling a banner to protest links with companies behind a controversial oil pipeline in the United States. noo/dt/nl/wai
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