BSI, one of the largest private banks in Switzerland, became the first bank to come to a resolution under the Swiss Bank Program, a U.S. Justice Department program offering Swiss banks the opportunity to resolve any potential criminal liabilities for which they feel they may have exposure as a result of undisclosed accounts. Swiss banks were given a December 2013 deadline to sign up for the program and the Justice Department is expecting to reach agreements with many other Swiss banks before the end of this calendar year.

BSI’s Agreement

• Cooperate in any related criminal or civil proceedings,
• Demonstrate it has put controls in place to stop misconduct involving undeclared accounts held by U.S. taxpayers, and
• Pay a $211 million penalty in return for the Justice Department’s agreement not to prosecute the bank for tax-related criminal offenses.

For more details on BSI’s agreement, as well as other potential agreements to come, read our article “BSI Will Pay $211 Million to Avoid Criminal Prosecution in U.S.”

The article also includes a sidebar regarding Switzerland’s plan to align corporate tax law with standards under the OECD.

Questions? Contact any member of our Global Tax Services team.