Swiss prosecutors on Friday indicted private bank Lombard Odier and one of the firm's former employees for "aggravated money laundering", in a rare charge of such magnitude against one of Switzerland's biggest and oldest wealth managers.

Lombard Odier — one of Switzerland's oldest private banks — has been indicted by Swiss prosecutors for "aggravated money laundering." In a release out on Friday, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland said it filed an indictment against Lombard Odier and a former employee of the bank at Switzerland's Federal Criminal Court earlier on Tuesday.

Lombard Odier & Cie and a former employee have been indicted for aggravated money laundering by Swiss prosecutors over their involvement in the long-running bribery scandal linked to the daughter of late Uzbek president Islam Karimov.

Swiss private bank Lombard Odier and one of its former employees have been charged with aggravated money laundering by Switzerland’s federal prosecutor.

In Hong Kong, shares of property developer New World Development dropped mre than 6 per cent after Bloomberg reported that chief executive Eric Ma is stepping down after just two months in the role. He replaced Adrian Cheng, grandson of the company’s founder, who resigned in September.