[Note from CAF: I don’t know the specifics of what Wegelin did or did not do. I assume the US gave them two options. Confess to criminal charge or be individually hounded until not just the bank but the individual partners and their families were destroyed. In a similar circumstance, I did not take the deal but chose to litigate out through the first rounds of court decisions, forcing the other side to come clean as they had no evidence of wrongdoing. – put calling their bluff is one I recommend only if that is your purpose and you do not have families. The reality is that in these situations, the lives of family, including children, can be and are threatened. Given the fact that the US just allowed HSBC officers to skate on billions of narcotics money laundering, not to mention trillions of mortgage fraud to rape investors globally with no indictments of any of the responsible parties, the lawlessness and real goals of the US enforcement arm is crystal clear. To the partners of Wegelin, I say thank you for your voice of sanity and excellence in a world gone made. We wish you well. We will miss your voice.]
By MercoPress
Switzerland’s oldest bank is to close permanently after pleading guilty in a New York court to helping Americans evade their taxes. Wegelin, which was established in 1741, has also agreed to pay 57.8m dollars in fines to US authorities. The bank had admitted to allowing more than 100 American citizens to hide 1.2bn dollars from the Internal Revenue Service for almost 10 years.
It said that once this was completed, it “will cease to operate as a bank”. Wegelin, based in the small Swiss town of St Gallen, started in business 35 years before the US declaration of independence. It becomes the first foreign bank to plead guilty to tax evasion charges in the US.
Related Reading:
Zero Hedge:
From Switzerland With No Love – Wegelin Bank Says Goodbye
Solari:
U.S. Indicts Wegelin Bank for Helping Americans Avoid Tax
Wegelin Clients Pulled $4 bln, Prompting Sale-paper
Swiss National Bank President Resigns
The Empire Strikes Back: US Moves Toward Legal Action Against Swiss Bank
Oldest Swiss Bank Advises Clients to Pull Out of US Securities
