The Swiss unit of Deutsche Bank settled the dispute with U.S. tax authorities and agreed to pay a fine, the third biggest in the dispute between Swiss banking and the U.S. justice.
Deutsche Bank (Suisse) accepted to pay a $31 million fine in exchange for a non-prosecution agreement with U.S. authorities, ending the dispute over abetting tax evasion by U.S. citizens, the Department of Justice said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
The company, which has its headquarters in Geneva, helped U.S. citizens evade taxes at least from 2008 through 2013, the U.S. authority said. Deutsche Bank also has branches in Zurich and Lugano.
Third-Biggest Fine
The bank offered services to U.S. taxpayers knowing that they could be used to hide assets from the U.S. tax authorities, for example by retaining mail or issuing credit cards linked to accounts.
The fine is the third highest in the drawn-out dispute of Swiss banks with U.S. authorities. Bank BSI had to pay $211 million and the Swiss unit of France's BNP Paribas almost $60 million.
