Credit Suisse Exempted From German Tax Prosecution

Credit Suisse said it believed it was exempt from prosecution for helping Germans evade taxes following a deal last year, after a German newspaper reported that clients of the Swiss bank were being probed.

About 7,000 mainly German offshore clients of Credit Suisse are being investigated on suspicion of hiding untaxed funds in offshore accounts, German daily Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday.

The newspaper referred to so-called Bermuda products designed as insurance-style instruments to avoid tax.

A spokesman for the bank referred to a 150 million euro deal struck last September, which ended an investigation into Credit Suisse and its employees over allegations they helped Germans dodge taxes.

Credit Suisse, which said it stopped offering clients the Bermuda products in 2009, said it instructed clients to get their tax affairs in order.

Switzerland’s banking secrecy rules, used by foreigners to hide money in secret accounts, have come under pressure from other countries in recent years as cash-strapped governments try to crack down on tax dodgers.

Reuters