UBS is facing a lawsuit in France after an investigation that dragged out for years. Raoul Weil, the bank's former wealth-management boss, also faces renewed judicial scrutiny.
The impending court case will likely start in the coming month, according to a report by «AFP» newswire, citing unidentified sources within the French judiciary. The investigating attorneys will bring charges against UBS for abiding tax fraud, the judiciary told «AFP».
Raoul Weil, the well-known former head of wealth management at UBS who faced down charges in a separate U.S. criminal trial, and three managers at UBS in France also face charges.
Four Managers Implicated
The French judiciary has been investigating the former top manager at the Swiss No. 1 bank for some time, finews.ch reported in October 2015. He was put on bail against a deposit of 200,000 euros – prompting the banker's ordeal to begin all over. Weil had been arrested in Italy and extradited to the U.S. to face legal action, only to be cleared of all charges at the end of 2014.
UBS didn't comment the likely legal action when confronted with the news by «AFP».
Appeal Pending in Strassburg
The French authorities opened their procedure against UBS on suspicion of helping tax evasion in 2014 and against the French unit of the bank in 2015. The bank was bailed with 1.1 billion euros.
UBS appealed the procedure of the French judiciary at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
