Switzerland-based Bank La Roche & Co has reached a resolution 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 $9.29m to the US to avoid prosecution over allegations that it helped US citizens avoid paying taxes.
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Under the terms of the non-prosecution deal, the bank also agreed to cooperate in any related criminal or civil proceedings and demonstrate implementation of controls to prevent misconduct.
The US DoJ in a statement said that La Roche held a total of 201 US related accounts with an aggregate value of $193.9m since 1 August 2008. Among these accounts, 136 were beneficially owned by US clients domiciled in the United States and 36 were held in the names of entities.
The bank provided numbered accounts for 70 US taxpayers, allowed cash and precious metal withdrawals related to the closures of 27 US taxpayers’ accounts for $11.6m and also offered travel cash cards to five US taxpayers upon their request.
In February 2015, La Roche has divested its business to Notenstein Privatbank.
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By GlobalDataAs part of the sale, La Roche’s employees and the clients except US taxpayers and a few other clients will move to Notenstein Privatbank. The deal is scheduled to close in October 2015.
Following the sale, La Roche is planning to close its remaining business and relinquish its banking license.
