On December 4, the DOJ
announced a deferred prosecution agreement and
charges, in the Southern District of New York, a Swiss bank, requiring approximately $122.9 million in restitution for defrauding the U.S. government and evading tax requirements from the IRS. According to the government’s complaint, the Swiss bank hid more than $5.6 billion in 1,637 secret bank accounts.
In its Information filing, the DOJ indicated that the Swiss bank provided offshore corporation and trust formation to U.S. taxpayers from 2008 to 2014. The DOJ alleged that U.S. taxpayers conspired with the Swiss bank to conceal the existence of bank accounts from the IRS, including filing false tax returns and evading U.S. taxes through income from undeclared accounts. According to the DOJ, the Swiss bank opened and maintained the accounts, created sham entities, did not send bank statements to U.S. taxpayer clients, allowed deposits into undeclared accounts through intermediaries, and permitted customers to make structured withdrawals under $10,000 all without reporting to the IRS on the proper forms.
As part of the deferred prosecution agreement, the Swiss bank committed to accepting responsibility, fully cooperating with U.S. authorities, making payments, and complying with U.S. law. The Swiss bank must also truthfully disclose all required information, provide all transactional information, close the recalcitrant accounts, and not open any U.S.-related accounts. The DOJ agreed to suspend criminal charges under certain conditions for three years, after which the DOJ will seek dismissal with prejudice if the bank complies with all requirements of the agreement.
