The Swiss private bank deputy CEO returned home from the Balearic Islands, where he had been arrested on U.S. tax allegations – an absconding which cost him his job, finews.com has learned.
Peter Rueegg, who in August was detained by Spain’s national police at the request of U.S. prosecutors, is back in Switzerland, a person familiar with the matter told finews.com on Monday.
The Swiss banker’s absconding for the safety of home led to his dismissal by Ihag, the Zurich-based bank which has employed him for the past 22 years, the person said. Rueegg, who had been suspended since August, relinquished his duties and responsibilities effective immediately, according to an internal memo seen by finews.com.
A spokesman for the bank confirmed the contents of the memo.
Rueegg’s dismissal but not the reason was first reported by «Inside Paradeplatz» (in German) on Friday. A statement from Rueegg's spokesperson is still pending. His retreat to Switzerland effectively shields him from U.S. justice, as Swiss authorities don't extradite their own citizens in tax evasion cases.
Bank Came Clean
The 60-year-old Rueegg was arrested on an international arrest warrant on behalf of U.S. officials, who want him in connection with helping Americans hide more than $65 million in offshore accounts between 2004 and 2014, a Mallorcan news outlet reported in August.
The bank had originally suspended Rueegg, who had faced potential extradition to the U.S. and, if he is convicted of aiding tax fraud, up to five years in jail. Ihag in 2015 entered a U.S. program to come clean on past tax offenses and avoid prosecution, paying $7.5 million.
