Justice. UBS bank found definitively guilty of laundering aggravated by tax fraud

The Court of Cassation has ruled: it definitively confirmed this Wednesday the guilt of the Swiss banking giant UBS for aggravated money laundering, tax fraud and illegal bank canvassing. This emblematic case is not, however, completely over: the court, which does not judge the merits of the disputes but verifies compliance with the rules of law, ordered a third trial to reassess the amount of the penalties and compensation for the state.

The first Swiss bank was condemned by the Paris Court of Appeal on December 13, 2021 to a total of 1.8 billion euros, including a confiscation of 1 billion, 800 million in damages and a fine of 3.75 million euros. The company, which has always contested any infringement, was found guilty of having illegally approached wealthy French taxpayers in order to convince them to open undeclared accounts in Switzerland between 2004 and 2012. It had lodged an appeal with the Court of Cassation. .

Confiscation considered illegal

After a hearing on September 27, the highest court of the French judiciary ruled this Wednesday: it annulled the confiscation, deeming it illegal, as well as the compensation granted to the State, considering that it was not Wasn’t motivated enough. A new trial will therefore take place in the coming months at the Paris Court of Appeal, before other magistrates, but only to determine the appropriate penalties and re-examine damages.

The French subsidiary of the bank, UBS France, fined 1.875 million euros on appeal for complicity in illegal bank canvassing, has not filed an appeal. His sentence is final, like those of four former executives – who were given suspended prison sentences of six months to one year, as well as fines ranging from 200,000 to 300,000 euros.