Switzerland's Falcon Private Bank has replaced its chief executive, Eduardo Leemann, with board member Walter Berchtold, three sources familiar with the matter said in Zurich on Thursday.

Leeman is still an adviser to Falcon, one of the people said.

Zurich-based Falcon, which is owned by Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), did not immediately respond to requests by phone and email for comment.

An IPIC spokesperson contacted in Abu Dhabi declined to comment.

The departure comes amid Falcon's links with scandal-hit Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB). Falcon said in July it was cooperating with Singaporean investigators looking into the bank's ties to 1MDB.

Leeman joined Falcon, formerly AIG Private Bank, as CEO in 1997 before becoming chairperson of the bank's board. He returned to Falcon's executive board in September 2008.

Berchtold has been a member of Falcon's board since March 2015 and previously worked as CEO of private banking at Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-biggest bank, from 2006 to 2011.

- Reuters