Tax evasion: UBS France placed under investigation

PARIS: Investigators in France placed the French branch of Swiss bank UBS under formal investigation on Friday, suspecting its involvement in trying to persuade rich French clients to open undeclared accounts in Switzerland, a legal source said.

UBS was also named as an “assisted witness” in an investigation into a money laundering operation that was part of a tax fraud case, the source added. Many senior UBS employees are already under investigation. The French probe was launched after allegations from a former UBS employee turned whistleblower that sent an anonymous note to the French government about the bank’s dealings. The issue jumped back to the top of the government’s agenda in the wake of a scandal surrounding the former budget minister Jerome Cahuzac who in April was placed under investigation for tax fraud. Cahuzac had admitted to opening an undeclared Swiss bank account in 1992 and transferring the some €600,000 to Singapore.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 2^nd, 2013.

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