BERN: Swiss banks Société Générale Private Banking Switzerland and Berner Kantonalbank AG have agreed to pay the United States multimillion-dollar penalties under a tax evasion non-prosecution programme announced on Tuesday by the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
Under its Swiss Bank Program, the Société Générale branch will pay a $17.81 million (CHF16.5 million) penalty and Berner Kantonalbank will pay a $4.62 million penalty, US Justice Department officials said in a statement. Société Générale Private Banking SA maintained undeclared accounts in the name of “sham entities” for US clients, the Justice Department said, and opened accounts for Americans who had left Zurich-based UBS AG after Switzerland’s biggest bank came under scrutiny for aiding tax evasion several years ago.
Last month, Société Générale Private Banking Lugano (a separate legal structure under the group’s umbrella) was fined $1.36 million under the same DoJ scheme. Berner Kantonalbank AG also opened and maintained undeclared accounts for Americans, the DoJ said on Tuesday. Berner Kantonalbank had about 720 US accounts since August 2008, it added, with roughly $176.5 million in assets.
The bank said in a statement the penalty will have no impact on its results for the current year and that it had already made appropriate provisions in 2013. The banks turned themselves in by joining the US programme in 2013, along with around 100 other Swiss-based institutions. The scheme allows banks to pay fines in return for the Department of Justice waiving criminal prosecutions.
