Credit Suisse Services AG has pleaded guilty to conspiring with wealthy American taxpayers to hide more than $4 billion in at least 475 offshore accounts, and will pay nearly $511 million in penalties, the US Department of Justice announced.

The Swiss financial institution admitted to helping "ultra-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individual clients" evade their US tax obligations from 2010 through 2021, in what prosecutors described as a breach of its previous 2014 plea agreement with the United States.

"Among other fraudulent acts, bankers at Credit Suisse falsified records, processed fictitious donation paperwork, and serviced more than $1 billion in accounts without documentation of tax compliance," the Department of Justice said in a statement.

In addition to the guilty plea, Credit Suisse Services AG entered into a non-prosecution agreement regarding US accounts booked at Credit Suisse AG Singapore, which between 2014 and June 2023 held undeclared accounts for US persons with total assets valued at over $2 billion.

UBS, which acquired Credit Suisse in 2023 as part of an emergency rescue, stated: "UBS was not involved in the underlying conduct and has zero tolerance for tax evasion." The bank added it was "pleased to have resolved another of Credit Suisse's legacy issues."

This settlement follows Credit Suisse's previous guilty plea in 2014, when it paid $2.6 billion to settle a case for helping US taxpayers hide offshore accounts from the Internal Revenue Service—at the time the largest payment ever in a criminal tax case.

Jeffrey Neiman, a Florida attorney representing whistleblowers in the case, said his clients "uncovered and exposed this ongoing misconduct" of the company's violation of the original plea deal.

"At great personal risk and potential prosecution by Swiss authorities, they provided the Government with detailed evidence: names, Social Security numbers, and passports of US-linked account holders whose assets had been hidden for decades," Neiman said.

The tax loss to the United States cited in the case was more than $71 million, while Credit Suisse's associated revenues from the accounts exceeded $108.6 million, according to court filings.

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee, whose investigation had exposed Credit Suisse's continued misconduct, said: "This settlement fully vindicates the findings of my investigation, which exposed how Credit Suisse kept hiding more than $700 million offshore for rich Americans in violation of their deal to avoid prosecution."

Under the agreements, Credit Suisse Services AG and UBS are required to cooperate fully with ongoing investigations and disclose any information they may later uncover regarding US-related accounts.

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