UBS seeks to wipe out €1.8bn tax fine at top French court
Swiss bank UBS will on Wednesday seek to convince France’s top court to overturn a reputation-damaging conviction and €1.8 billion ($1.9 billion) penalty for helping wealthy French clients stash away undeclared funds in Swiss accounts.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Bloomberg
The hearing comes nearly two years after the Paris court of appeals more than halved UBS’s initial fine but upheld a finding that the firm had illegally laundered funds.
The UBS legal saga in France has rumbled on for more than a decade. It’s featured failed settlement talks, a banking boss calling his staffers “egomaniacs”, a whistle blower spying on former colleagues during tennis matches at the French Open and investigators accusing the bank of deploying tactics “worthy of James Bond” to avoid detection by authorities.
The Cour de Cassation will examine UBS’s guilt, the penalty it received and the damages award. UBS’s total penalty included €800 million in reparation for the French state, a €1 billion confiscation order and a €3.75 million fine.
UBS declined to comment ahead of the hearing.
UBS was also convicted of covertly and unlawfully dispatching Swiss bankers in France to encourage prospective clients to move money across the border.
The nation’s top court could take several months to deliver a verdict. If its interpretation diverges from the 2021 ruling, it could opt for a re-examination by a different panel of judges at the Paris appeals court.
UBS acquired local rival Credit Suisse in a rescue that closed in June. The deal has set the bank on one of the most complex integrations since the financial crisis, which includes efforts to keep key talent in certain areas while shedding other aspects of the business.
UBS to appeal record €3.7 billion French tax fraud fine
This content was published on
A French court on Wednesday found Swiss bank UBS guilty of illicit solicitation and laundering of the proceeds of tax fraud, imposing a hefty fine of €3.7 billion (CHF4.2 billion).
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
This content was published on
A 36-year-old man from Ticino lost his life on Saturday in Val Malvaglia, in the north of canton Ticino, during a wingsuit jump from a plane.
Swiss Evangelical Reformed Church numbers dropping in French-speaking Switzerland
This content was published on
As in German-speaking Switzerland, the number of members of the Reformed Church in French-speaking Switzerland is also declining.
Gotthard traffic queue hits 20km during holiday weekend
This content was published on
The traffic jam at the Gotthard north portal reached a length of 20 kilometres on the motorway between canton Nidwalden and canton Uri.
Swiss Interior Minister visits Cannes Film Festival
This content was published on
Swiss Interior Minister left the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday after three days of intensive dialogue, meetings and film screenings.
Swiss theatre director breaks with tradition at Vienna’s Rathausplatz
This content was published on
With the proclamation of the "Free Republic of Vienna", the start of the festival on Friday evening was unusually political.
UBS to appeal record €3.7 billion French tax fraud fine
This content was published on
A French court on Wednesday found Swiss bank UBS guilty of illicit solicitation and laundering of the proceeds of tax fraud, imposing a hefty fine of €3.7 billion (CHF4.2 billion).
UBS whistleblower criticises banking’s ‘code of silence’
This content was published on
Gibaud started working at UBS France when it opened there in 1999 and was head of communications until 2012, with particular responsibility for organising bank events in France. Upon learning of the alleged illegal nature of the bank’s activities in France, she was instrumental in revealing the scandal of tax evasion and fraud. Earlier this…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.