Switzerland’s oldest private bank, Wegelin & Co, will pay $122.9 million in fines after it pleaded guilty to helping wealthy U.S. citizens hide billions of dollars in offshore accounts from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The settlement was announced today by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The fine, which is the largest ever imposed on a financial institution for assisting with tax evasion, is a result of a four-year investigation into U.S. taxpayers who evaded taxes using accounts held at Wegelin & Co.
Wegelin & Co admitted that it had “willfully and knowingly” offered U.S. taxpayers a way to divert millions of dollars in untaxed funds into secret Swiss bank accounts. Wegelin & Co had 3,500 client accounts with more than $1.2 billion in assets.
The U.S. Justice Department said that Wegelin & Co’s actions were “pervasive and long-running.” The bank opened offshore shell companies and sham foundations for its customers, created false “loans” to disguise the true ownership of funds, and even adopted a “business model” that allowed its U.S. customers to “receive payments from their accounts maintained at Wegelin.”
In addition to the fine, Wegelin & Co agreed to cooperate with the U.S. government in its ongoing investigation into other Swiss financial institutions. The agreement also requires Wegelin & Co to hand over to the U.S. government all information regarding its customers’ offshore accounts.
The settlement serves as a major warning sign to any foreign financial institution looking to assist U.S. taxpayers in evading taxes. The DOJ said that it has investigations into 14 other Swiss banks and 14 non-Swiss banks, which could potentially result in further fines and settlements.
Wegelin & Co was founded in 1741 and for centuries has been one of the oldest and most prominent Swiss private banks. The company has long been known for its longstanding tradition of protecting the privacy of its customers. However, this settlement shows that the bank knew and willfully assisted U.S. customers in using their accounts to avoid paying taxes. The settlement sends a clear signal that these activities will not be tolerated and there is no refuge for those who seek to shirk their obligations to the government.
Switzerland’s oldest private bank, Wegelin & Co, will pay $122.9 million in fines after it pleaded guilty to helping wealthy U.S. citizens hide billions of dollars in offshore accounts from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The settlement was announced today by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The fine, which is the largest ever imposed on a financial institution for assisting with tax evasion, is a result of a four-year investigation into U.S. taxpayers who evaded taxes using accounts held at Wegelin & Co.
Wegelin & Co admitted that it had “willfully and knowingly” offered U.S. taxpayers a way to divert millions of dollars in untaxed funds into secret Swiss bank accounts. Wegelin & Co had 3,500 client accounts with more than $1.2 billion in assets.
The U.S. Justice Department said that Wegelin & Co’s actions were “pervasive and long-running.” The bank opened offshore shell companies and sham foundations for its customers, created false “loans” to disguise the true ownership of funds, and even adopted a “business model” that allowed its U.S. customers to “receive payments from their accounts maintained at Wegelin.”
In addition to the fine, Wegelin & Co agreed to cooperate with the U.S. government in its ongoing investigation into other Swiss financial institutions. The agreement also requires Wegelin & Co to hand over to the U.S. government all information regarding its customers’ offshore accounts.
The settlement serves as a major warning sign to any foreign financial institution looking to assist U.S. taxpayers in evading taxes. The DOJ said that it has investigations into 14 other Swiss banks and 14 non-Swiss banks, which could potentially result in further fines and settlements.
Wegelin & Co was founded in 1741 and for centuries has been one of the oldest and most prominent Swiss private banks. The company has long been known for its longstanding tradition of protecting the privacy of its customers. However, this settlement shows that the bank knew and willfully assisted U.S. customers in using their accounts to avoid paying taxes. The settlement sends a clear signal that these activities will not be tolerated and there is no refuge for those who seek to shirk their obligations to the government.
