Former 'banker of the year' tells court he spent $217,000 at strip clubs on company credit cards for business-related reasons

A Swiss ex-banker who is on trial for fraud and was once honored as the "banker of the year" told a court on Tuesday that the $217,000 he spent at strip clubs was mostly business related, according to reports.

Most of the charges against Pierin Vincenz, 65, are related to allegations of fraudulent deals made between 2006 and 2017, while he headed up the Swiss banking group Raiffeisen Switzerland.

The news agency said that the most attention in Switzerland was given to his alleged misuse of his corporate expense account.

According to The Sunday Times, Vincenz is accused of using his company credit card to fund a 20-year tour of the red-light zones.

On the opening day of Vincenz's trial, prosecutors said that the ex-banker had filed over half a million dollars in improper expenses.

According to the Daily Beast, $217,675 was paid to strip clubs. According to The Sunday Times, Vincenz charged his Raiffeisen company card $97,000 for a performance at a Burlesque cabaret theatre.

Vincenz told a judge Tuesday that his visits to bars and nightclubs were justified by his business.

The ex-banker claimed that he went to the venues alone to network with entrepreneurs and business managers.

He had unusual charges found on his expenses bills. According to The Sunday Times, he spent $753 on dinner and drinks for someone he met on the dating app. The newspaper reported that Vincenz told a judge that it was legitimate because he was considering a real estate job.

The 65-year-old was accused of spending 27,000 Swiss Francs on a private jet to fly to the Spanish island of Mallorca for a cooking class and then charging it to the bank.

The New York Post reported that Vincenz and his co-conspirators denied all allegations against them.

The Sunday Times said he admitted to mistakes regarding his corporate expenses during the trial. The newspaper said that he spent more than $5,000 on his company credit card to repair a hotel room that was wrecked in a row with a stripper.

According to The Sunday Times, the trial has attracted a lot of attention. The hearing on Tuesday was moved from a court to a theatre in order to seat the public.