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Crédit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-largest bank, has agreed to pay 238 million euros to avoid prosecution over money laundering and tax fraud charges in France.
According to the agreement approved by a Paris court on Monday, Crédit Suisse will pay the French state a fine of 123 million euros and an additional 115 million euros in damages and interest.
Crédit Suisse said it had reached a settlement “to conclude its investigation into historic cross-border private banking.”
The bank’s statement emphasizes that the agreement does not involve recognition of criminal responsibility.
French financial prosecutors launched an investigation in 2016 and discovered that 5,000 French citizens had undeclared Crédit Suisse accounts with assets totaling two billion euros, according to the court.
The judge presiding over the settlement said Crédit Suisse bankers sought clients in high-end French restaurants and hotels, bypassing the bank’s offices in France.
A systematic, long-term and cunning scheme
Prosecutor Francois-Xavier Dulin said the settlement took into account the systematic nature of the approaches over a long period and the creation of tools to hide the bank’s search for French customers between 2005 and 2012.
He said Crédit Suisse had set up offshore entities to help clients avoid declaring certain assets to French authorities.
Prosecutors say the settlement takes into account the bank’s current cooperation with French authorities and the corrective measures it has taken.
“The bank is pleased to resolve this matter, which marks another important step in the proactive resolution of litigation and inheritance issues,” Crédit Suisse said in a statement.