Press release: Leonteq statement on recent media article and business update

PRESS RELEASE | LEONTEQ STATEMENT ON RECENT MEDIA ARTICLE AND BUSINESS UPDATE

Zurich, 12 October 2022 | Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

In an article published on 10 October 2022, allegations were made concerning two Leonteq issued products distributed by a company based in the BVI, vaguely referring to potential tax evasion or money laundering by third parties. The assertion was made that Leonteq should have reported those transactions to the relevant authorities and that a special investigation conducted into this matter was not sufficiently independent.

Leonteq strongly refutes these allegations, which were first raised internally in 2021 and were thoroughly investigated by Leonteqs Compliance department. This investigation found no evidence that would corroborate the suspicions raised.

In addition to the internal investigation, Leonteqs Board of Directors mandated an independent EY team to carry out a special investigation. The decision to commission EY was taken against the background of Leonteqs then ongoing tender process to renew its external audit mandate, replacing PricewaterhouseCoopers, in order not to conflict accountancy firms participating in the tender process (including Deloitte later elected as external auditor by shareholders). EY, as Leonteqs internal auditor, did not participate in the tender, and the separate EY team performing the special investigation was operating autonomously.

EYs special investigation confirmed that with respect to all relevant trades, no indication exists that would justify the allegations of money laundering or tax evasion. Furthermore, both internal and external legal and compliance specialists concluded that there was no basis upon which the filing of a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) would be warranted.

It is important to note that Leonteq's distribution partners are third-party financial intermediaries who must comply with laws and regulations applicable to their business, including anti-money laundering rules, as well as the distribution agreements agreed with Leonteq. If Leonteq detects a breach thereof, it takes immediate appropriate action, while the distribution partners remain responsible for their adherence to applicable requirements.

Leonteq has a strict zero tolerance policy regarding non-compliant business behaviour, and its management and Board of Directors remain strongly committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and compliance. At the same time, Leonteq remains focused on the diligent and disciplined execution of its Growth Strategy 2026.

Business update

Following its strong results in the first half of 2022, Leonteq continued to maintain a prudent approach to risk management and saw its trading result continue to compensate for subdued client demand in the second half of the year to date. Leonteq is thus on track to meet its previously announced guidance of exceeding the prior years record group net profit of CHF 155.7 million (EPS of CHF 8.47) for the full-year 2022.

CONTACT

Media Relations 

+41 58 800 1844

media@leonteq.com

 Investor Relations 

+41 58 800 1855

investorrelations@leonteq.com

LEONTEQ

Leonteq is a Swiss fintech company with a leading marketplace for structured investment solutions. Based on proprietary modern technology, the company offers derivative investment products and services and predominantly covers the capital protection, yield enhancement and participation product classes. Leonteq acts as both a direct issuer of its own products and as a partner to other financial institutions. Leonteq further enables life insurance companies to produce capital-efficient, unit-linked pension products with guarantees. The company has offices and subsidiaries in 13 countries, through which it serves over 50 markets. Leonteq AG is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: LEON). www.leonteq.com

DISCLAIMER

This press release issued by Leonteq AG (the Company) serves for information purposes only and does not constitute research. This press release and all materials, documents and information used therein or distributed in the context of this press release do not constitute or form part of and should not be construed as, an offer (public or private) to sell or a solicitation of offers (public or private) to purchase or subscribe for shares or other securities of the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries in any jurisdiction or an inducement to enter into investment activity in any jurisdiction, and may not be used for such purposes. Copies of this press release may not be made available (directly or indirectly) to any person in relation to whom the making available of the press release is restricted or prohibited by law or sent to countries, or distributed in or from countries, to, in or from which this is restricted or prohibited by law.

This press release may contain specific forward-looking statements, e.g. statements including terms like believe, assume, expect, "target" forecast, project, may, could, might, will or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may result in a substantial divergence between the actual results, financial situation, development or performance of the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries and those explicitly or implicitly presumed in these statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: (1) general market, macroeconomic, governmental and regulatory trends, (2) movements in securities markets, exchange rates and interest rates and (3) other risks and uncertainties inherent in our business. In addition, currently, it is very difficult to provide a meaningful prediction on how the governmental actions in response to the ongoing outbreak of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and other COVID-19 related factors will affect Leonteq's operations and how long such measures will remain in place. The COVID-19 outbreak has caused, and may continue to cause, uncertainty, economic instability and a significant decrease of total economic output in the affected areas and globally. The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the general economic environment in the markets in which Leonteq operates remain uncertain and could be significant. Against the background of these uncertainties, you should not rely on forward-looking statements. Neither the Company nor any of its affiliates or subsidiaries or their respective bodies, executives, employees and advisers assume any responsibility to prepare or disseminate any supplement, amendment, update or revision to any of the information, opinions or forward-looking statements contained in this press release or to adapt them to any change in events, conditions or circumstances, except as required by applicable law or regulation.