French court hits Swiss bank UBS for a record fine of 3.7 billion euros in a tax evasion case

The bank was found guilty of illegally helping French customers to conceal billions of euros from the French tax authorities.

The lawsuit was opened last fall after seven years of investigation, while several former employees had filed complaints of unlawful behavior.

The decision was made when European authorities cracked down on tax evasion and dubious banking practices as a result of the global financial crisis that erupted in 2007.

The pressure finally forced Switzerland to effectively end its tradition of irreproachable banking secrecy by joining more than 90 countries that agreed to automatically share more information about their accounts receivable.

In the UBS case, the French authorities determined that more than 10 billion euros had been subtracted from the tax authorities between 2004 and 2012.

The office of the national prosecutor asked for a fine of 3.7 billion euros, the largest ever requested in France, claiming that the bank and its leaders "knew perfectly well that they violated the French law" by illegally seeking customers and helping them to avoid their obligations. French taxes.

They also demanded a fine of 15 million euros from the French subsidiary of UBS and a fine of up to 500,000 euros to six senior executives, including Raoul Weil, former third UBS manager, and Patrick de Fayet , former second executive for his operations in France.

In addition, French state attorneys, who is a plaintiff in the case, have claimed 1.6 billion euros in damages and interest.

UBS, who was ordered to pay a bail of 1.1 billion euros, denied these accusations and declared that its activities were in accordance with Swiss law.

He also stated that he "did not know" that some French clients had not declared their assets in Switzerland and that the prosecutors had not produced any evidence, such as their name or account number, to justify their fraud claims.

The case was followed closely by industry leaders at a time when Paris and other European capitals were hoping to attract multinational banks to London as Brexit loomed.