Help the refugees

If you move around the world by choice, consider helping those forced from their homes by conflict. Donate to the UN Refugee Agency today.

Home News Swiss bank enters plea bargain in France over tax fraud: sources

Swiss bank enters plea bargain in France over tax fraud: sources

Published on 21/01/2016

Swiss banking group Reyl has entered a plea bargain with French authorities over allegations it helped clients commit tax fraud, judicial sources said on Thursday.

As part of the deal Reyl agreed earlier this month to pay a fine of 2.8 million euros ($3 million), they said.

Top bank executives Dominique Reyl and his son Francois have been cleared of all charges.

A lawyer for the bank, Kiril Bougartchev, said in a statement seen by AFP that the deal with the French authorities concerned six accounts totalling 4.8 million euros.

The investigation has attracted French media attention after a former bank employee said that more than a dozen French politicians had secret accounts there.

Investigators found no evidence of this and the employee later retracted his allegations.