Tax dodgers or criminals trying to hide drug profits in Swiss banks will find it more difficult to do so, the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday.
“Today’s agreements reflect the Tax Division’s continued progress towards reaching appropriate resolutions with the banks that self-reported and voluntarily entered the Swiss Bank Program,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Department of Justice’s Tax Division.
“The department is currently investigating accountholders, bank employees, and other facilitators and institutions based on information supplied by various sources, including the banks participating in this Program. Our message is clear – there is no safe haven.”
“MediBank was hit with $826,000 fine after taking clients from UBS when that bank was being prosecuted by the US. The DoJ said that MediBank had hired a UBS client relationship manager in a bid to poach clients and their assets from Switzerland’s largest bank,” U.S. News reported.
U.S. News stated that LBBW Switzerland ($34,000) and Scobag private bank ($1,090) got off relatively lightly largely by dint of holding less secret money from US tax cheats.
The DOJ announced Thursday that it has reached an agreement with four Swiss banks under the department’s Swiss Bank Program:
- Société Générale Private Banking (Lugano-Svizzera)
- MediBank AG
- LBBW (Schweiz) AG
- Scobag Privatbank AG
The Swiss Bank Program, which was announced on Aug. 29, 2013, provides a path for Swiss banks to resolve potential criminal liabilities in the United States, authorities stated.
Swiss banks eligible to enter the program were required to advise the department by Dec. 31, 2013, that they had reason to believe that they had committed tax-related criminal offenses in connection with undeclared U.S.-related accounts.
Banks already under criminal investigation related to their Swiss-banking activities and all individuals were expressly excluded from the program.
Under the program, banks are required to do the following things:
- Make a complete disclosure of their cross-border activities
- Provide detailed information on an account-by-account basis for accounts in which U.S. taxpayers have a direct or indirect interest
- Cooperate in treaty requests for account information
- Provide detailed information as to other banks that transferred funds into secret accounts or that accepted funds when secret accounts were closed
- Agree to close accounts of accountholders who fail to come into compliance with U.S. reporting obligations
- Pay appropriate penalties
Swiss banks meeting all of the above requirements are eligible for a non-prosecution agreement.
(Photo: U.S. News)