Swiss banks Mercantil Bank (Schweiz), Banque Cantonale Neuchateloise and Nidwaldner Kantonalbank have agreed to pay US authorities combined penalties of nearly $3.1m to avoid prosecution for aiding wealthy Americans avoid taxes.
The banks reached deal under the US Department of Justice’s (DoJ) Swiss bank programme, which requires Swiss banks to reveal how they helped wealthy American citizens evade taxes.
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Mercantil Bank will pay a $1.2m fine, Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise (BCN) will pay $1.1m and Nidwaldner Kantonalbank will fork over $856,000 the federal government.
According to the terms of the non-prosecution agreements, each bank will cooperate in any related criminal or civil proceedings and demonstrate implementation of controls to stop misconduct.
The US DoJ also revealed that Mercantil Bank had a toll-free line for US clients, and offered code names for accounts. While, BCN permitted account holders at UBS and other financial institutions to transfer over, once it became public that those banks were under probe by the US.
This brings to 20 the number of Swiss banks that have reached settlements under the voluntary program set up in 2013. However, banks already under criminal investigation related to their Swiss-banking activities and all individuals were expressly excluded from the program.
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By GlobalData
