Credit Suisse Bank violated an agreement with US authorities by failing to report secret offshore accounts used by wealthy Americans to avoid paying taxes, US lawmakers said on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
The US Senate Finance Committee pointed to an ongoing criminal conspiracy involving approximately $100 million in accounts of US taxpayer families that banks did not disclose. Credit Suisse also reported that it helped an American businessman hide more than $220 million in offshore accounts from the IRS.
According to the commission, Credit Suisse said it found 23 accounts worth more than $20 million that had not been reported to tax authorities, many of which were made public just days before the report was published. The investigation revealed that more than $700 million was hidden in violation of a nine-year conviction agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
“Credit Suisse received a discount on the fine it received in 2014 for enabling tax evasion because bank executives promised to stay out of the business of defrauding America,” said Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, a Democrat.
“This investigation shows that Credit Suisse has failed to live up to its promise,” he said.
The Swiss government pushed rival bank UBS this month to acquire long-struggling Credit Suisse for $3.25 billion amid turmoil in the global financial system. The bankruptcy of two U.S. banks, including Silicon Valley Bank, sparked a plunge in the stock price of Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-largest bank, as customers’ withdrawals surged.
The U.S. Senate inquiry found that UBS had a new CEO on the same day it named a new CEO to help push the takeover as UBS attempted to absorb Credit Suisse and create a single Swiss megabank. is to raise an issue. It’s also Credit Suisse’s latest clash with US authorities following settlements worth hundreds of millions of dollars in mortgage securities that were behind the 2008 financial crisis.
Credit Suisse, which has suffered years of trouble from hedge fund losses to fines for failing to prevent money laundering by a Bulgarian cocaine smuggling ring, countered that it “doesn’t condone tax evasion” and said the Senate report “some of its legacy goes back 10 years.” It claims to have described the problem”.
“We have since implemented extensive improvements to root out individuals trying to hide their assets from tax authorities,” said Credit Suisse Bank. It is to discipline employees who do not meet Swiss standards of conduct.”
However, the Senate report noted that Credit Suisse cooperated with the investigation, including appointing a new leadership.
Credit Suisse paid a reduced fine of $1.3 billion to the U.S. Department of Justice after pleading guilty to conspiracy to assist and assist U.S. taxpayers in filing false income tax returns and other documents with the IRS in 2014.
Credit Suisse admitted that it “knowingly and knowingly” helped thousands of Americans open undeclared accounts with tax authorities and conceal offshore assets. He instead avoided criminal charges in exchange for agreeing to report the undeclared account and provide other information to US officials.
A U.S. Senate committee said in 2013 that close to $100 million in secret overseas accounts belonging to families of dual U.S.-Latin American citizens were closed but transferred to other banks without notifying U.S. authorities.
The Senate report noted that “Credit Suisse managed to keep funds from its customers’ potentially criminal tax evasion undiscovered for nearly a decade,” and that former senior bankers helped manage the family’s accounts. Moreover, Credit Suisse employees allegedly helped him hide $220 million from US authorities, even though he had known for a long time that he was American.
Credit Suisse employees were encouraged to help the account hide its ties to the United States because the bonuses depended on how much money they managed, the Senate report noted. To that end, those accounts may have been given special consideration because that means employees with clients with assets greater than $20 million or $30 million will receive more bonuses, the committee explained.
Members of the Senate Finance Committee became aware of 13 of the 23 undeclared accounts worth more than $20 million just days before the report was released. That raises concerns that Credit Suisse is still disclosing large numbers of undeclared accounts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, years after it signed an agreement with US authorities and faced further scrutiny, the commission said.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.