The Justice Department on Friday withdrew tax evasion charges against UBS months after the Swiss banking giant paid millions of dollars in fines and provided the names of thousands of its U.S. customers, the Associated Press reported.
UBS in February 2009 entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ in which the bank admitted guilt on charges of conspiring to defraud the United States by impeding the Internal Revenue Service. As part of the deal, the DOJ would drop charges against the bank after 18 months if the financial institution disclosed to the United States the identities and account information for about 4,450 U.S. customers of UBS. The agreement also required the payment of $780 million in fines, penalties, interest and restitution.
“Given that UBS AG has fully complied with all of its obligations … the United States believes that dismissal is appropriate under the circumstances,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Neiman and other prosecutors said in a court filing, according to the AP.
The DOJ has prosecuted about 10 people for tax evasion so far in connection with this case, with several dozen individuals still under investigation, according to the AP.
