Tax fraud: Credit Suisse pays 238 million euros to escape prosecution in France

2 billion Swiss francs concealed by Credit Suisse from the French tax authorities

The news was confirmed on Monday, October 24 by the French authorities. Swiss creditwhich lost more than 50% of its stock market value over 1 year, will pay 115 million euros in damages and 123 million euros in fines within the framework of a legal agreement in the public interest at the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) French.

Evolution of the Credit Suisse share price since December 2021

Despite a financing plan expected at the end of October to revive its activities, the bank does not seem to be at the end of its troubles.

👉 Takeover bid: Credit Suisse offers 3 billion Swiss francs to buy back its debts

After paying 475 million to US and UK financial authorities last year to settle lawsuits related to hidden credits granted to two state-owned companies in Mozambique, it is in France that the Swiss bank is now trying to settle its accounts.

In 2016, a financial investigation is opened for money laundering and illegal solicitation of customers. The case put together by the French tax authorities has proven that more than 5,000 French customers had an undeclared account at Credit Suisse, i.e. the equivalent of 2 billion euros hidden.

Stéphane Noël, president of the French tax court, adds on this subject:

“Credit Suisse did not send any account statements. The canvassing did not respect French legislation, the sales representatives traveled to France, in complete discretion. They identified prospects with visits to hotels, restaurants, never to the official premises of the French establishment. »

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Credit Suisse accepts no responsibility

As the bank struggles to regain the confidence of its investors, a press release was published on Monday to confirm the announcement of the French authorities. However, in this memo, the bank denies any liability.

“This settlement is in no way an admission of guilt. The bank is pleased to resolve this litigation, which marks an important step in the proactive resolution of Credit Suisse’s legal affairs. »

Indeed, these 238 million euros paid to the French tax authorities will allow the Swiss institution to put an end to this investigation and therefore to avoid a trial in France.

If the bank capitalized at nearly 10 billion dollars at the writing of these lines remains a historic and essential institution with the Swiss authorities, this soap opera underlines the backwardness of traditional finance in terms of transparency and reliability.

Soon a traditional finance optimized by blockchain technology?

Despite everything, some actors lead the way and reveal solutions to address this type of problem. JP Morgan and Visa, for example, recently announced that they are developing a joint project based on blockchain technology to facilitate cross-border interbank transfers.

If this project sees the light of day in 2023, it would allow, according to Forbes, save $118 billion a yearthe amount lost due to incorrect banking information each year.

Ultimately, after the 2008 economic crisis, the cryptocurrency industry rose as an alternative to the woes of traditional finance. While the crypto-asset market remains young, it offers concrete and complementary solutions to the current banking system.

While some still see this industry as speculative and unstable, its development over the past 15 years with public, traceable and accessible blockchain networks, stresses that a financial system more adapted to our needs is still to be built.

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Sources: France 24, Le Figaro, Swiss credit

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