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Swiss Bank Wegelin To Close After US Tax Evasion Fine
BBC NEWS, BUSINESS
January 3, 2013: Switzerland's oldest bank is to close permanently after pleading guilty in a New York court to helping Americans evade their taxes. Wegelin, which was established in 1741, has also agreed to pay $57.8m (£36m; 44m euros) in fines to US authorities. It said that once this was completed, it "will cease to operate as a bank".
The bank had admitted to allowing American citizens to hide $1.2bn from the Inland Revenue Service for almost 10 years. Wegelin, based in the small Swiss town of St Gallen, becomes the first foreign bank to plead guilty to tax evasion charges in the US.
Other Swiss banks have in recent years moved to prevent US citizens from opening offshore accounts.
US Attorney Preet Bharara said: "The bank willfully and aggressively jumped in to fill a void that was left when other Swiss banks abandoned the practice due to pressure from US law enforcement." He added that it was a "watershed moment in our efforts to hold to account both the individuals and the banks - wherever they may be in the world - who are engaging in unlawful conduct that deprives the US Treasury of billions of dollars of tax revenue". Otto Bruderer, a managing partner at the bank, said it was aware that its previous conduct had been "wrong".
