Credit Suisse Services has admitted to conspiring with US taxpayers in a scheme to conceal more than $4bn in at least 475 offshore accounts from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The Swiss financial entity, as a result of the legal resolution, will pay more than $510m in penalties, restitution, forfeiture, and fines with no protections granted to individuals involved.
Credit Suisse Services has also entered into a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with the US Department of Justice’s Tax Division and the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. This agreement, related to US accounts managed by Credit Suisse in Singapore, mandates the bank to assist in ongoing investigations and imposes substantial financial penalties for facilitating U. taxpayers in evading tax obligations through offshore accounts.
Court documents reveal that from January 2010 to July 2021, Credit Suisse, which caters to ultra-high-net-worth and high-net-worth clients globally, collaborated with employees and US customers to obscure the ownership and control of assets. This enabled customers to avoid US tax responsibilities by creating undeclared offshore accounts and offering private banking services that concealed assets and income from the IRS.
The plea agreement also highlights various fraudulent activities, including the falsification of records and processing fictitious donation paperwork. These actions breached a prior plea agreement from May 2014 with the US.
Between 2014 and June 2023, Credit Suisse Singapore maintained undeclared accounts for US persons with assets exceeding $2bn. During the UBS and Credit Suisse Singapore merger in 2023, UBS identified and reported undeclared US accounts to the Justice Department, cooperating by investigating these accounts.
Under the current resolutions, Credit Suisse Services, alongside UBS, is obligated to fully cooperate with ongoing investigations and disclose any future information regarding US-related accounts.
