UBS is reportedly nearing a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department, potentially paying “at least hundreds of millions of dollars” in penalties to resolve ongoing tax evasion violations tied to its 2023 acquisition of Credit Suisse.
The settlement could be finalized as early as this week, according to a Thursday report from the Wall Street Journal. The agreement follows a 2014 plea deal in which Credit Suisse admitted to assisting wealthy Americans in evading taxes.
Under the 2014 agreement, Credit Suisse committed to disclosing American accounts. However, whistleblowers later alleged that the bank continued to conceal certain accounts. The Justice Department has raised concerns over accounts that were closed shortly after the plea deal but not reported to U.S. authorities. This allowed some American clients to transfer their assets to other tax havens before the government could detect the activity.
In 2014, Credit Suisse agreed to pay $2.6 billion in fines as part of the settlement. UBS, which assumed Credit Suisse’s liabilities following its acquisition, had already set aside around $4 billion to address ongoing investigations and potential lawsuits.
A Senate investigation in 2023 revealed that Credit Suisse likely hid hundreds of millions of dollars in accounts after the plea deal, failing to notify U.S. regulators until whistleblowers came forward with the information.
UBS has not yet responded to requests for comment on the matter.
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