The French banking watchdog has fined Swiss bank UBS’s French unit EUR10 million (US$13 million) for helping hundreds of French clients stash money away in undeclared Swiss accounts.
The bank has been placed under formal investigation over charges that it tried to persuade clients to evade taxes by putting their money in suspicious accounts.
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The Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel (ACP), the regulator, said that UBS France was warned by autumn 2007 about inadequate procedures and did nothing for 18 months. The statement did not specify whether there had been any illicit activity.
The bank also failed to control the conditions under which its employees fed commercial data, such as names of people interested in opening accounts abroad, to its Swiss parent, the regulator said.
Under French law, only French-registered entities can sign up customers in France.
A statement by UBS said: "We disagree with many of the disciplinary commission’s conclusions. UBS will further analyze the decision by the commission and will consider whether to appeal at the appropriate time."
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By GlobalData"UBS does not tolerate any activities intended to help its clients circumvent their tax obligations," the statement added.
The case came to light after a former UBS employee, turned whistleblower, made allegations against the bank.
Tax evasion has become a hot topic in France ever since April, when ex-Budget Minister Jérôme Cahuzac was investigated for tax fraud.
Switzerland is under massive pressure from the EU and elsewhere to share banking data and stop procedures that other countries say have supported tax evasion.
