USA TAX PROSECUTION SINKS VENERABLE SWISS BANK
January 1st, 2013
SWITZERLAND’S oldest private bank, founded in 1741, is closing after pleading guilty January 11 to helping US taxpayers evade tax by setting up secret Swiss accounts for them to hide assets and interest from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The closure of Wegelin & Co is the first-ever guilty plea in the USA to tax law violations by a foreign bank. Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara said Wegelin had “wilfully and aggressively” filled a void when other Swiss banks abandoned the practice due to US pressure. Describing the guilty plea as “a ...
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