Banque Bonhôte topped up an 2015 agreement with U.S. prosecutors. The Swiss private bank had failed to tell American officials about $33 million it held for wealthy U.S. taxpayers in hidden offshore accounts.
U.S. prosecutors pried an extra $1.2 million out of Banque Bonhôte & Cie, a Neuchatel-based Swiss wealth manager, the Justice Department said in a statement. Bonhôte had already paid $624,000 four years ago when it reached a deal with U.S. officials over $88 million in funds Americans were keeping hidden from the taxman.
«In reaching today’s agreement, Bonhôte acknowledges it should have disclosed additional U.S.-related accounts to the department at the time of the signing of the non-prosecution agreement,» U.S. justice officials said. Bonhôte, a 214-year-old Swiss private bank, was one of 80 Swiss banks to pay a total of $1.36 billion in penalties following a four-year U.S. prosecution effort.
Shot Across the Bow
Bonhôte will provide U.S. prosecutors with more information on eight additional accounts with assets under management of approximately $33 million that it held for wealthy Americans, the Department of Justice said. A media representative for Bonhôte confirmed the settlement, which it said it can pay out of reserves.
The DOJ move can be understood as a shot across the bow for other Swiss banks which may not have been entirely forthcoming. «We expect banks to fully cooperate with the department and continue to provide information about U.S. offshore accounts,» tax division head Richard Zuckerman said.
Cost Dearly
The settlements stem from a 2013 Swiss government-brokered scheme for Switzerland's private banking industry to make amends in the U.S. in exchange for escaping prosecution. «The Department of Justice continues to examine the information provided by Swiss banks to the department and will continue to work closely with our partners at the Internal Revenue Service to ensure that American taxpayers are meeting their reporting and tax obligations with respect to foreign bank accounts,» Zuckerman said.
The DOJ, which spent more than a decade pursuing Swiss banks, has flagged Singapore and other havens as ones it will look at next in the hunt for undeclared U.S. taxpayers. The probe cost some Swiss banks dearly: Credit Suisse was slammed with a $2.6 billion penalty in 2014, five years after UBS paid $780 million in 2009.
