HSBC and CreditSuisse targeted for IRS probe

Business :: -->
IRS investigates Credit Suisse for tax fraud, says NY Times
Updated 18:07 New York, NY, USA (TSR, Fre) - First UBS and now Credit Suisse: the IRS, in inquiries which are increasingly far-reaching into fiscal evasion and fraud by US citizens and their overseas banks, has reportedly been investigating Credit Suisse and London-based HSBC since September, according to the New York Times. But Credit Suisse in Zurich says it has no knowledge of such investigations and HSBC saying the same.

The banks are suspected by the IRS of helping US taxpayers “hide assets of up to $30 million in offshore accounts,” reports the paper. To date no names of managers have surfaced and Credit Suisse refused to comment on the article, reports TSR, but it does insist it observes all laws and regulations.

Posted by :: Ellen Wallace on 2 December 2008 at 17:24 permalink

---

HSBC, Credit Suisse added to federal probe, report says

Posted by Associated Press December 02, 2008 10:42AM
Categories: Banks
NEW YORK -- The Department of Justice has added Credit Suisse and HSBC to an investigation into foreign banks that sell offshore private banking services, according to a report Tuesday in The New York Times.
The Justice Department was already investigating whether Swiss banking giant UBS AG helped U.S. taxpayers hide assets overseas to avoid paying taxes.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the investigation.
Credit Suisse spokesman Jan Vonder Muehll in Zurich said the bank has no knowledge of any investigation against it by U.S. authorities.
HSBC spokesman Donal McCarthy in London said, "We are not aware of HSBC being investigated in connection with its offshore private banking services in the U.S. and HSBC has not received any contact from the U.S. authorities with regard to any such investigation."
McCarthy added that HSBC complies with all laws in countries where it does business and "cooperate with investigations when required to do so."
The Times, citing unnamed sources, said the investigation into Credit Suisse and HSBC began in September and is focusing on whether the two banks illegally helped wealthy American clients hide $30 billion overseas to avoid declaring the cash to the Internal Revenue Service. The investigation will determine if the clients themselves violated any laws as well.
Last week, UBS said it uncovered cases of tax fraud by some of its U.S. clients after it examined files as a result of the Justice Department investigation. The U.S. had initially asked for assistance in July.
UBS Chairman Peter Kurer said an investigation turned up a "limited number of cases of tax fraud under both U.S. and Swiss law."
Last month, a senior UBS executive was charged in the United States with conspiring to hide $20 billion in assets from the IRS.
The indictment claims that the chief of UBS' wealth management business, Raoul Weil, helped about 20,000 U.S. clients conceal assets in offshore accounts between 2002 and 2007. About 17,000 of the customers hid their identities and their Swiss bank accounts from the IRS and many of them filed false income tax returns, according to the indictment.