The Swiss private bank Pictet admits to having helped customers in the United States evade taxes. More than 5.6 billion dollars (about 5.2 billion euros) remained hidden from the federal tax authority, the IRS.
According to the Reuters news agency, the Swiss bank has reached an agreement with the US Department of Justice to close the case. As part of this, Pictet will pay $122.9 million to the ministry, the private bank wrote in a statement on its website.
Pictet mainly does asset management for private clients and institutions. The bank says it will from now on ensure that customers comply with tax obligations.
“This case should send a clear message to others trying to hide their assets and income abroad,” said Jim Lee of the IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division.
The US Treasury is said to have lost billions in taxes between 2008 and 2014 because people and institutions with Pictet accounts hid their income from the IRS.
