EFG banks paid a $29.988 million penalty over undeclared U.S. client accounts

Summary

In December 2015, EFG Bank European Financial Group SA and EFG Bank AG entered into a joint non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice under the Swiss Bank Program. The Justice Department stated that EFG conducted a U.S. cross-border banking business that aided certain U.S. clients in opening and maintaining undeclared Swiss accounts and concealing assets and income from the U.S. government. The conduct included traditional Swiss banking services, accounts held through non-U.S. entities and insurance-wrapper accounts. Since August 2008, EFG held 919 U.S.-related accounts with aggregate peak assets of approximately $1.58 billion. Approximately 12 percent were timely disclosed to the IRS through Form 1099 reporting. EFG agreed to pay a penalty of $29.988 million. EFG Bank is identified by the Justice Department as the main Swiss private-banking subsidiary of EFG International AG. The agreement was a non-prosecution resolution and not a criminal conviction. Source / proof: U.S. Department of Justice: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-efg-bank-european-financial-group-sa-geneva-and-efg-bank-ag