U.S. prosecutors settled a criminal investigation into Rahn+Bodmer, levying a fine and disgorgement of profits in exchange for dropping charges.
Zurich's oldest private bank will pay $22 million to U.S. officials to settle a more than decade-old probe into helping Americans hide their wealth in offshore Swiss accounts, it said in a statement (in German).
Rahn+Bodmer admitted to the Justice Department that it helped roughly 340 U.S. taxpayers to avoid more than $16 million in taxes as recently as 2012, according to «Reuters». The partner-led bank used pseudonyms or sham foundations in Liechtenstein and Panama to hide clients' money.
Snapped Up UBS Leavers
Crucially, the 271-year-old wealth manager appears to have snapped up clients fleeing UBS as the Swiss giant came under criminal investigation. Rahn+Bodmer's assets of U.S. clients leapt to $550 million in 2007, from $391 million three years before.
UBS settled with U.S. prosecutors in 2009 for $780 million. This marked the beginning of a more than ten-year pursuit of other Swiss private banks, which culminated in a record $2.5 billion total penalty against Credit Suisse.
Pictet Probe Ongoing
Rahn+Bodmer's settlement, which includes a three-year deferred prosecution, is made up of a $7.4 million fine, the relinquishing of $9.7 million in fees it earned from the business and paying $4.9 million in restitution.
The bank said it had provisioned for the fine. Rahn+Bodmer's settlement leaves just Pictet as the last Swiss wealth manager still on the hook for criminal charges with U.S. prosecutors.
