Basel Cantonal Bank has become the latest Swiss financial institution to accept a fine for helping United States citizens to evade taxes. The bank was forced to pay a total of $60.4 million (CHF58.9 million) in penalties to settle the case without having to face a criminal trial.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch/mga
Announcing the settlement on Tuesday, the Department of Justice (DoJ) said the bank had deliberately poached clients from other Swiss banks that were themselves facing criminal actions in the US.
Sensing the 2009 prosecution of UBS as a “business opportunity”, Basel Cantonal Bank engaged outside professionals to help them onboard US clients and their undeclared assets to its Zurich-based branch.
“At its peak in 2010, the bank held approximately 1,144 accounts for US customers, with an aggregate value of approximately $813.2 million,” much of it undeclared, the DoJ said in a statementExternal link.
It was one of the few remaining Swiss banks that had yet to be punished by the US for its activities. A handful have yet to reach settlement, including Pictet, one of Switzerland’s largest private banks. In recent weeks, other banks have agreed to fines, including Zurich Cantonal Bank that shelled out $98.5 million earlier this month.
The large scale prosecution of Swiss banks by the US authorities has brought about the demise of Swiss banking secrecy and witnessed the demise of three institutions, including Wegelin, which was Switzerland’s oldest bank when it closed down in 2013.
Popular Stories
More
Climate adaptation
Why Switzerland is among the ten fastest-warming countries in the world
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Prevention and tech could help save billions on Swiss healthcare costs, says Deloitte
This content was published on
By focusing on prevention and technology, it would be possible to reduce Switzerland's healthcare bill by CHF30 billion a year by 2040, according to Deloitte Switzerland.
Environment director warns of increasing climate-related risks in Switzerland
This content was published on
The director of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) has warned of increasing climate-related risks in Switzerland in an interview with SonntagsBlick on Sunday.
Gotthard traffic queue hits 11km at start of holiday season
This content was published on
The start of the summer holidays saw a long traffic jam in front of the Gotthard tunnel on Saturday. Traffic jams between Erstfeld and Göschenen in canton Uri were up to 11 kilometres long early in the morning.
This content was published on
The water temperature of the Rhine River could rise by up to 4.2° degrees Celsius by the end of the century due to the warming planet, scientists warn.
This content was published on
The Federal Council wants to explore the possibilities of joining the European Union’s €800-billion rearmament programme without compromising Swiss neutrality.
Defence Minister Pfister stresses importance of Swiss mission in Balkans
This content was published on
During a visit to the Balkans region last week, Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister met Swisscoy peacekeeping troops in Kosovo.
Premiere for Swiss Air Force on French National Day
This content was published on
On July 14, the Swiss Air Force will take part in the traditional air parade in Paris to mark the French bank holidays with an F/A-18 fighter jet. This is a first for Switzerland.
Swiss launch competition for memorial to Nazi victims
This content was published on
The victims of Nazi Germany are to be commemorated on the Casinoterrasse in Bern. A competition will be held to determine what the site will look like.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Zurich bank settles tax evasion probe with US
This content was published on
The Zürcher Kantonalbank has agreed to pay the US Department of Justice $98.5 million to resolve investigation into its role in tax evasion.
This content was published on
The Zurich-based Neue Privat Bank (NPB) has paid $5 million (CHF5 million) fine to settle a criminal tax evasion investigation in the United States. NPB is one of a handful of so-called ‘category 1’ Swiss or Swiss-based bank branches that were still facing sanctions at the start of this year. On Thursday the Department of…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.