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Credit Suisse Services AG has agreed to pay nearly $511 million in penalties to settle a U.S. criminal case accusing the Swiss bank of helping wealthy American clients evade taxes by hiding more than $4 billion in offshore accounts for over a decade.
The bank pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by concealing assets in at least 475 accounts from 2010 to 2021, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday.
The investigation, launched in 2023, found that Credit Suisse facilitated efforts by U.S. clients to hide their ownership and control of assets held at the bank, allowing them to avoid paying taxes in the U.S.
The DOJ said the conduct violated a 2014 plea agreement in which Credit Suisse admitted to helping U.S. taxpayers file false income tax returns. As part of that earlier deal, the bank agreed to cease helping U.S. clients conceal assets and evade taxes and paid $2.6 billion in fines and restitution—an amount later reduced to $1.3 billion after executives assured authorities the misconduct would end.
However, the DOJ said bank employees continued to help clients dodge taxes by falsifying records, processing sham donations, and maintaining more than $1 billion in accounts without verifying tax compliance.
In addition to the guilty plea, Credit Suisse also entered a non-prosecution agreement over undeclared U.S. accounts held at Credit Suisse AG Singapore, which managed more than $2 billion in assets. Between 2014 and June 2023, the bank continued to serve U.S. customers without confirming their tax compliance, the DOJ said.
Under the new settlement Credit Suisse Services AG will pay penalties, restitution, forfeiture, and fines totaling $510.98 million.
UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, which acquired Credit Suisse in 2023, emphasized that it was “not involved in the underlying conduct and has zero tolerance for tax evasion.” The DOJ noted that UBS voluntarily disclosed problematic accounts and cooperated with the investigation. The full integration of Credit Suisse is expected to be completed in 2026.
The latest penalty adds to Credit Suisse’s mounting legal troubles. In 2022 the bank agreed to pay $495 million to resolve claims that it misled investors about the risks of mortgage-backed securities in the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.
