Credit Suisse Contacted by Authorities Over Tax Issues -- 2nd Update
March 31 2017 - 12:52PM
Dow Jones News
By Brian Blackstone
ZURICH-- Credit Suisse Group AG offices in three European
countries were targeted by authorities in a tax investigation, a
fresh headache for the Swiss lender just months after it agreed to
pay billions of dollars to resolve a major legal case with the
U.S.
The bank said on Friday that local authorities were in contact
with its offices in London, Paris and Amsterdam. The Dutch
financial-fraud prosecutor said it is investigating dozens of
people and had seized jewlery, artwork and a gold bar from homes in
the Netherlands as part of its probe. It didn't specify any bank as
part of the investigation.
Credit Suisse didn't provide details of the nature of the
contact, though the bank said in a statement that it "continues to
follow a strategy of full client tax compliance."
In the Dutch investigation, the prosecutor for financial fraud,
FIOD, said it is investigating dozens of people who are "alleged to
have concealed many millions of euros from the authorities by
placing them in Swiss bank accounts." Investigations are also going
on in Australia, Germany, the U.K. and France. It said it has
acquired information about thousands of account holders and more
operations would be carried out in the weeks ahead.
The action angered Swiss authorities,
who weren't consulted. The attorney general's office said it is
"concerned that Switzerland was specifically excluded when this
operation was organized" and that it "expects a written explanation
from the responsible Dutch authorities, and is considering what
further action needs to be taken."
Meanwhile, the U.K. tax authority, HM Revenue and Customs, said
it opened a criminal investigation, jointly with other countries,
into "suspected tax evasion and money laundering by a global
financial institution and certain of its employees." The HMRC also
didn't name the bank.
The HMRC said the probe will spur "further, targeted, activity
over the coming weeks" and is focused on "senior employees from
within the institution, along with a number of its customers."
The sums involved in the investigations don't appear large. In a
statement Friday, the European Union's Judicial Cooperation Unit
pegged hidden, undeclared assets under investigation as being "in
the millions of euros."
Credit Suisse's disclosure Friday was a reminder that the Swiss
lender still faces legal uncertainties after dealing with costly
regulatory actions in recent years. In December, the bank reached a
settlement worth roughly $5.3 billion with the U.S. Justice
Department over toxic mortgage securities sold before the financial
crisis.
In 2014, Credit Suisse admitted it conspired to aid tax evasion
and agreed to pay $2.6 billion to settle a long-running probe by
the U.S. Justice Department.
The Swiss bank, which has been shifting its focus away from
trading to focus more on wealth management, also faces an
investigation into whether its Israel desk helped clients cancel
U.S. tax obligations.
Jenny Strasburg in London contributed to this article.
Write to Brian Blackstone at brian.blackstone@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 31, 2017 12:37 ET (16:37 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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