Swiss private bank Pictet to pay $123m for helping clients evade US taxes
Bank admits to helping US taxpayers hide more than $5.6bn from the IRS
04 December 2023 - 21:26
byLuc Cohen
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New York — Swiss private bank Banque Pictet has admitted to helping US taxpayers hide more than $5.6bn from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the justice department, federal prosecutors said on Monday.
According to prosecutors, US taxpayers with Pictet accounts in Switzerland and elsewhere evaded about $50.6m in taxes between 2008 and 2014. As part of the agreement, Banque Pictet agreed to pay $122.9m to the US treasury.
“This case should provide a clear message to others who try to hide their assets and income offshore,” Jim Lee, the chief of the IRS’s criminal investigation division, said in a statement.
As part of the agreement, Pictet, which oversees Sf632bn ($724bn) in client assets, will implement remedial measures and co-operate with the authorities’ investigation. If it complies for three years, US prosecutors will move to dismiss charges of conspiring to defraud the IRS.
“Pictet is pleased to have resolved this matter and will continue to take steps to ensure its clients meet their tax obligations,” the bank said in a statement.
US authorities have long accused Swiss banks of helping wealthy Americans evade taxes, and Pictet signalled it had been in contact with the US for more than a decade.
Credit Suisse in 2014 agreed to pay a $2.5bn fine for helping Americans evade taxes in a conspiracy that spanned decades. The bank has since been taken over by former rival UBS.
In 2016, two former Julius Baer bankers pleaded guilty to helping American clients dodge taxes, and the bank agreed to pay $547m to resolve the criminal case.
Prosecutors said that while Pictet adopted some measures to ensure US clients complied with the law, it helped some customers hide funds from the IRS in offshore accounts.
The bank’s disgorgement of funds includes $52m in fees that Pictet earned from the undeclared accounts, $32m in unpaid taxes and a $39m penalty, prosecutors said.
The agreement comes as Renaud de Planta, senior partner at Pictet since 2019, prepares to step down from the helm to be succeeded by Marc Pictet from July 1.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Swiss private bank Pictet to pay $123m for helping clients evade US taxes
Bank admits to helping US taxpayers hide more than $5.6bn from the IRS
New York — Swiss private bank Banque Pictet has admitted to helping US taxpayers hide more than $5.6bn from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the justice department, federal prosecutors said on Monday.
According to prosecutors, US taxpayers with Pictet accounts in Switzerland and elsewhere evaded about $50.6m in taxes between 2008 and 2014. As part of the agreement, Banque Pictet agreed to pay $122.9m to the US treasury.
“This case should provide a clear message to others who try to hide their assets and income offshore,” Jim Lee, the chief of the IRS’s criminal investigation division, said in a statement.
As part of the agreement, Pictet, which oversees Sf632bn ($724bn) in client assets, will implement remedial measures and co-operate with the authorities’ investigation. If it complies for three years, US prosecutors will move to dismiss charges of conspiring to defraud the IRS.
“Pictet is pleased to have resolved this matter and will continue to take steps to ensure its clients meet their tax obligations,” the bank said in a statement.
US authorities have long accused Swiss banks of helping wealthy Americans evade taxes, and Pictet signalled it had been in contact with the US for more than a decade.
Credit Suisse in 2014 agreed to pay a $2.5bn fine for helping Americans evade taxes in a conspiracy that spanned decades. The bank has since been taken over by former rival UBS.
In 2016, two former Julius Baer bankers pleaded guilty to helping American clients dodge taxes, and the bank agreed to pay $547m to resolve the criminal case.
Prosecutors said that while Pictet adopted some measures to ensure US clients complied with the law, it helped some customers hide funds from the IRS in offshore accounts.
The bank’s disgorgement of funds includes $52m in fees that Pictet earned from the undeclared accounts, $32m in unpaid taxes and a $39m penalty, prosecutors said.
The agreement comes as Renaud de Planta, senior partner at Pictet since 2019, prepares to step down from the helm to be succeeded by Marc Pictet from July 1.
Reuters
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