Credit Suisse Services AG has been ordered to pay approximately $511 million to resolve criminal charges that it helped wealthy American clients conceal over $4 billion in offshore accounts for more than a decade, violating a prior agreement with U.S. authorities.
The Swiss bank pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service by hiding assets in at least 475 accounts between 2010 and 2021, the Justice Department announced. The probe, initiated in 2023, revealed that Credit Suisse enabled clients to obscure their ownership and control of funds, allowing them to dodge U.S. taxes.
The settlement comes after the bank broke the terms of a 2014 plea deal, in which it had admitted to assisting U.S. taxpayers in filing false returns and paid $2.6 billion in fines. That amount was later reduced to $1.3 billion after executives pledged that such misconduct would cease. Yet, authorities found that employees continued to facilitate tax evasion through falsified records, sham donations, and accounts exceeding $1 billion without verifying tax compliance.
Alongside the guilty plea, Credit Suisse entered a non-prosecution agreement regarding undeclared accounts at its Singapore branch, which managed over $2 billion. From 2014 to mid-2023, the bank served U.S. customers without ensuring they met tax obligations, the Justice Department said.
Under the new settlement, the bank will pay nearly $511 million in penalties, restitution, and forfeiture. UBS, which acquired Credit Suisse in 2023, stated it had no role in the misconduct and has a strict stance against tax evasion. UBS voluntarily disclosed problematic accounts and cooperated with the investigation, with full integration of its subsidiary slated for 2026.
This penalty adds to Credit Suisse’s legal woes, following a $495 million settlement in 2022 over mortgage-backed securities claims tied to the 2008 financial crisis.