Swiss bank UBS Group AG, its French unit and six executives faced charges of aggravated tax fraud and money laundering on Monday, the first day of a trial into allegations they helped wealthy clients avoid taxes in France. After seven years of investigation and aborted settlement negotiations, UBS will also answer allegations that it illegally solicited clients in France. It risks being fined up to 5 billion euros (4.40 billion pounds) plus potential damages to the French taxman for the missing revenue.
UBS’s trial in France follows a similar judicial process in the United States, where the bank in 2009 accepted to pay $780 million in a settlement. In Germany, UBS agreed to a 300 million euro fine in 2014.
The investigation into UBS in the United States began after employee Bradley Birkenfeld revealed a scheme to funnel wealthy customers’ cash from the United States to Switzerland, bypassing the U.S. taxman.
— source uk.reuters.com | Oct 8, 2018