Appointment process
Tax fraud at Swiss UBS? The court passes judgment
The headquarters of UBS Group AG in downtown Frankfurt. Photo: Sebastian Gollnow / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
UBS Bank is said to have done business with tax evaders in France and was therefore fined billions of euros. The decision is now pending in the appointment process.
The verdict is due to fall on Monday in the newly opened proceedings for alleged tax fraud by the Swiss banking giant UBS in France. As in the first instance, the group is threatened with a fine in the billions.
The public prosecutor’s office demanded a fine of at least two billion euros in the newly opened trial before the Paris Court of Appeal, thus requesting confirmation of the previous judgment. The defense demanded acquittal.
The allegations go back to the years 2004 to 2012. The public prosecutor’s office accuses UBS of having sent employees to France at the time to attract a wealthy clientele. UBS is said to have encouraged customers to place their money in Switzerland past the French tax authorities. Overall, it should be about assets of more than ten billion euros.
3.7 billion euros
The big bank was sentenced in the first instance to a fine of more than 3.7 billion euros in the case more than two and a half years ago. The court had ruled that it was an offense of “exceptional gravity”. According to court circles, a penalty for tax fraud of this level was unprecedented in France.
The court had also ruled that UBS, its French branch and three former officials must collectively pay € 800 million in damages to the French state. The state was a joint plaintiff in the trial.
The bank appealed the judgment. It rejected allegations of criminal misconduct and called the decision incomprehensible.
Former employees gave tips
As in the first instance, UBS France and six former employees of the major bank must also answer in the appeal process in court. Negotiations began in March. The verdict was originally due to be pronounced in September. However, the court adjourned the decision for health reasons.
The investigation into the tax affair began after information from former UBS employees. In other countries, too, UBS was targeted by the authorities for doing business with tax evaders. In Germany, the institute agreed with the judiciary in 2014 on a fine of around 300 million euros. In the US, the bank had to accept a fine of $ 780 million in 2009.