UBS to Pay $780 Million, Provide Client Names to Settle U.S. Probe

UBS AG, Switzerland's largest bank, has admitted to helping U.S. taxpayers hide bank accounts from the IRS and has entered into a deferred-prosecution agreement, the U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday.

As part of that agreement, UBS has agreed to immediately provide the U.S. government with the identities and account information of some U.S. customers.

The bank also has agreed to pay $780 million in fines, penalties and restitution, and will no longer provide banking services to U.S. clients with undeclared bank accounts.

Included in the monetary penalties is a $200 million payment to the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges that UBS acted as an unregistered broker-dealer and investment adviser.

The bank will pay an additional $180 million in disgorgement of profits from its cross-border banking business, as well as $400 million in U.S. tax-related payments.

The Justice Department said the agreement was accepted Wednesday by a federal judge in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

'The veil of secrecy has been pulled aside and we will continue to aggressively pursue those who shirk their federal tax obligations or assist others in doing so,' said John A. DiCicco, the acting head of the Justice Department's tax division.

UBS Chairman Peter Kurer said in a statement that the company regretted its compliance failures and accepted 'full responsibility for these improper activities.'

'Client confidentiality, to which UBS remains committed, was never designed to protect fraudulent acts or the identity of those clients, who, with the active assistance of bank personnel, misused the confidentiality protections,' Mr. Kurer said.

Prosecutors said in court documents that UBS's cross-border banking business served 20,000 U.S. clients with $20 billion in assets. Roughly 17,000 of those U.S. clients hid their identities and accounts from the IRS, and UBS helped them in doing so, prosecutors said.

The Justice Department said UBS bankers routinely traveled to the United States to market Swiss bank secrecy to U.S. clients interested in evading income taxes.

In 2004 alone, Swiss bankers made approximately 3,800 trips to the U.S. to discuss their clients' Swiss accounts, prosecutors said.

The government will recommend that criminal charges against UBS be dismissed provided the bank carries out all of its obligations from Wednesday's settlement.

Brent Kendall

美

国司法部周三宣布，瑞士最大银行瑞士银行(UBS AG)已经承认协助美国纳税人向美国国税局(IRS)隐瞒银行帐户，并就此行为已经达成了一项暂缓起诉协议。

根据协议，瑞银同意立即向美国政府提供部分美国客户的身份和帐户信息。

瑞银还同意支付7.8亿美元的罚金和赔偿，并不再向未申报银行帐户的美国客户提供银行服务。

上述罚金包括了向美国证券交易委员会(SEC)支付的2亿美元，从而就瑞银从事未登记经纪自营商和投资顾问业务的诉讼达成和解。

瑞银还将交还1.8亿美元的跨国银行业务利润，以及4亿美元的美国税项相关款项。

美国司法部称，佛罗里达州罗德岱堡一位联邦法官周三接受了这一协议。

美国司法部税务部门代理主管迪西科(John A. DiCicco)说，保密的面纱已经被扯下，我们会继续积极调查那些逃避联邦纳税义务或协助他人逃税的案件。

瑞银董事长库勒(Peter Kurer)发表声明称，公司对违反规定感到后悔，并为这些不当行为承担全部责任。

库勒说，瑞银依然致力为客户保密，但银行的保密规定决不是用于庇护欺诈行为，也不保护那些在银行职员积极协助下滥用保密条款的客户。

检控方在法庭文件中表示，瑞银的跨国银行业务为持有200亿美元资产的2万名美国客户提供服务，其中大约17,000名美国客户向美国国税局隐瞒了身份和帐户，而瑞银为他们提供了这方面的帮助。

美国司法部说，瑞银员工定期访问美国，向有意逃避所得税的美国客户推广瑞士银行的保密制度。

检控方称，单是2004年，瑞士银行业人士就来美国出差约3,800次讨论他们客户的瑞士帐户。

如果瑞银遵守执行周三和解协议中的所有条款，美国政府将建议取消对瑞银的刑事指控。