Swiss bank Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) has reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) over the tax evasion cases under the department’s Swiss bank programme.
The bank has agreed to pay a penalty of more than $187m to the US to avoid prosecution over allegations that it helped US citizens avoid paying taxes.
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Under the non-prosecution deal, UBP will cooperate in any related criminal or civil proceedings and demonstrate its implementation of controls to prevent misconduct involving undeclared US accounts and pay penalties.
The DoJ said that the bank maintained 2,919 US related accounts with maximum aggregate assets of $4.89bn since 1 August 2008.
The bank helped US clients in opening and maintaining undeclared accounts in Switzerland and hiding the assets and income they held in these accounts for decades prior to and through 2013.
More than 200 private bankers, referred to as relationship managers, were responsible for managing at least one US client account during the period since 1 August 2008, the DoJ added.
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By GlobalDataUBP also assisted US clients in maintaining their assets in the names of non-US structures, rather than the actual beneficial owner of the funds. It also provided formation and administration services for offshore structures through a Geneva-based affiliate before 2001.
The department added that the bank had created an internal Wealth and Estate Planning unit (WEP Unit) and transferred the administration of these structures to the WEP Unit in 2001. UBP also maintained undeclared accounts at UBP for U.S. clients in the nominee names of non-US insurance companies.
The bank offered a variety of traditional Swiss banking services including hold mail and code name or numbered accounts that helped US taxpayers in concealing their identity from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The bank’s staff assisted several US clients in hiding their undeclared account funds by making fictitious donations to other accounts at UBP controlled in whole or in part by the US client but held by non-US persons.
IRS-criminal investigation chief Richard Weber said: "UBP, as one of the largest private banks in Switzerland, held nearly 3,000 U.S related accounts.
"This agreement will have far-reaching implications, expanding our understanding about the depth, breadth, tactics and techniques employed by the UBP private bankers and external asset managers who assisted U.S. taxpayers to conceal assets not only in Switzerland, but in other jurisdictions as well."
