Justice Department Announces Two Banks Reach Resolutions under Swiss Bank Program

The Department of Justice announced today that two banks, Banque Pasche SA and ARVEST Privatbank AG, have reached resolutions under the department’s Swiss Bank Program.

“Banque Pasche and ARVEST have provided detailed information regarding the ways in which Swiss banks helped U.S. taxpayers conceal foreign accounts and evade their U.S. tax obligations, including through the use of numbered and coded accounts and sham offshore entities,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Department of Justice’s Tax Division.  “As required under the program, these banks will continue to cooperate as we aggressively pursue those individuals and the professionals who facilitated their criminal conduct.”

The Swiss Bank Program, which was announced on Aug. 29, 2013, provides a path for Swiss banks to resolve potential criminal liabilities in the United States.  Swiss banks eligible to enter the program were required to advise the department by Dec. 31, 2013, that they had reason to believe that they had committed tax-related criminal offenses in connection with undeclared U.S.-related accounts.  Banks already under criminal investigation related to their Swiss-banking activities and all individuals were expressly excluded from the program.