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French court fines Swiss bank over tax evasion cases

Reyl bank
Keystone / Martial Trezzini

Swiss private bank Reyl has been fined €5.75 million (CHF5.7 million) in France, after it admitted facilitating tax evasion between 2009-2013.

The head of the bank, François Reyl, also received a one-year suspended prison sentence and a €500,000 fine.

France’s National Financial Prosecutor’s Office proposed the sentences under a preliminary acknowledgement of guilt – a French-style plea bargain; a court judge approved them.

The procedure dates back to 2013. At the time investigations were underway into former French Budget Minister Jerôme Cahuzac who was found guilty in 2016 of hiding undeclared funds in Switzerland. Cahuzac was sentenced to a three-year jail term. Reyl bank was fined €1.8 million, and its director was given a one-year suspended prison sentence and a €375,000 fine.

+ Swiss bank fined for helping French ex-minister evade taxes

But suspicions were raised about other undeclared accounts belonging to French clients at Reyl. A new investigation was then opened.

In January 2016, Reyl pleaded guilty to tax fraud laundering linked to six accounts and was fined €2.8 million.

+ Colossal tax dodging: the odd case of billionaire Pierre Castel

An eighth undeclared account was investigated, belonging to Alexandre Allard, an entrepreneur and former owner of the luxury Parisian hotel Royal Monceau. On Tuesday, the Paris court sentenced him to a one-year suspended prison term and a fine of €2 million.

Philippe Houman, a former financial adviser, was also sentenced to a one-year suspended prison term and a €375,000 fine in the Cahuzac trial. On Tuesday, he was accused of creating companies and opening bank accounts for seven other clients. He received a one-year suspended sentence and a €500,000 fine.

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