Article Image

IPFS News Link • TAXES: Federal

Switzerland’s oldest bank pleads guilty to aiding U.S. tax evasion

• THE EXECUTIVE GATEWAY
Switzerland’s oldest bank pleads guilty to aiding U.S. tax evasion Switzerland’s oldest bank pleaded guilty on Thursday to helping wealthy Americans hide more than $1.2 billion from the Internal Revenue Service. The case marks the first time a foreign bank has been charged for aiding U.S. tax evasion. Switzerland’s Wegelin & Co., founded in 1741, will pay $74 million after pleading guilty to conspiracy to evade taxes. The bank admitted to helping more than 100 U.S. taxpayers hide their assets between 2002 and 2011. “There is no excuse for wealthy Americans flouting their responsibilities as citizens of this great country to pay their taxes, and there is no excuse for foreign financial institutions helping them to do so,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement. Three Wegelin bankers have also been charged for their alleged roles in the scheme. The men reside in Switzerland and remain at large. A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to

thelibertyadvisor.com/declare