Credit Suisse concealed millions of dollars from U.S. authorities and violated a 2014 plea deal by helping ultra-wealthy Americans dodge taxes, according to a two-year investigation from the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.
The committee said it uncovered "major violations" of the 2014 agreement between Credit Suisse, which has agreed to a rescue takeover from UBS, and the U.S. Department of Justice for enabling tax evasion.
The violations include failing to disclose nearly $100 million in secret offshore accounts belonging to U.S. taxpayers, which it said represented an "ongoing and potentially criminal conspiracy".
In an emailed statement, Credit Suisse said it did not tolerate tax evasion and had been cooperating with U.S. authorities.
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"Credit Suisse’s new leadership team has cooperated with the Committee’s inquiry and has supported the work of Senator Wyden, including in respect of suggested policy solutions to help strengthen the financial industry’s ability to detect undisclosed U.S. persons," the bank said, referring to Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Oregon).
In a statement Wyden said: "At the center of this investigation are greedy Swiss bankers and catnapping government regulators, and the result appears to be a massive, ongoing conspiracy to help ultra-wealthy U.S. citizens to evade taxes and rip off their fellow Americans."
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Representatives for the U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2014, Credit Suisse became the largest bank in 20 years to plead guilty to a U.S. criminal charge and agreed to pay a $2.5 billion fine to authorities for helping Americans evade taxes in a conspiracy that spanned decades.
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Last year, the bank pled guilty to defrauding investors over an $850 million loan to Mozambique meant to pay for a tuna fishing fleet, and in June the bank was convicted by Switzerland's Federal Criminal Court of failing to prevent money-laundering by a Bulgarian cocaine trafficking gang.
Swiss authorities engineered the rescue of Credit Suisse earlier this month as they scrambled to prevent the lender from collapsing. UBS on Wednesday rehired Sergio Ermotti as CEO to steer its takeover of Credit Suisse and reassure the world's wealthy that UBS remains a safe harbor for their cash.
Reuters contributed to this report.
