UBS settles with prosecutors for €5 million
The case concerns former Credit Suisse conduct towards Dutch clients with undeclared assets.
UBS will pay €5 million to the Dutch Public Prosecution Service in a settlement concerning services provided by the former Credit Suisse. According to the Public Prosecution Service, the bank helped twelve Dutch clients file incorrect tax returns between 2005 and 2015. UBS says the settlement does not constitute an admission of criminal liability.
The case concerns assets that Dutch clients held with Credit Suisse in Switzerland without fully declaring them to the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration. According to the Public Prosecution Service, eighty tax returns filed by twelve clients were incorrect. Credit Suisse allegedly helped keep the assets out of the tax authorities’ sight.
In 2016, the Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD) began an investigation under the direction of the Public Prosecution Service. In its description of the case, the Public Prosecution Service mentions, among other things, the use of code names in contacts with clients. Structures may also have been set up using companies in countries that at the time did not exchange tax information with the Netherlands.
The settlement will be paid by UBS, which took over Credit Suisse in 2023. Credit Suisse no longer exists as an independent bank. Responsibility for the financial settlement of old cases therefore lies with its successor, even though the conduct dates from an earlier period.
The Public Prosecution Service says the investigation for criminal resolution was limited to twelve clients and eighty tax returns. According to public reporting, the Tax and Customs Administration also pursued a larger group of clients through additional tax assessments and fines. The amounts individual clients had to pay back are not stated in the sources consulted.
A settlement is not a court conviction. UBS says it is paying €5 million to conclude the old matter, but stresses that the agreement does not constitute an admission of criminal liability. The bank also says it operates a zero-tolerance policy towards tax evasion.
The case shows how long tax investigations into foreign asset structures can continue. For the authorities, retrospective enforcement is a way of tackling tax evasion and the facilitation of it. At the same time, questions remain about how strongly financial institutions should be held to account for the conduct of an acquired bank and how transparent such settlements should be.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The Public Prosecution Service has reached a €5 million settlement with UBS.
- The case concerns former Credit Suisse conduct towards twelve Dutch clients.
- UBS does not deny that it is paying, but says the agreement does not constitute an admission of criminal liability.
Left
Arguments Banks have a social gatekeeper role and should not profit from structures that enable tax evasion. A settlement is defensible if it quickly raises money and makes clear that financial services are not above the law.
Values Tax justice, public funds and the responsibility of large companies.
Consequences Heavier sanctions could prompt banks to carry out stronger checks, but settlements that are too low may be seen as a business risk that is factored into costs.
Centre
Arguments The state should consider the evidence, the age of the facts, cooperation and the likelihood of recurrence in each case. A settlement can be more efficient than lengthy criminal proceedings, provided its conditions and reasoning can be scrutinised.
Values Legal certainty, proportionality and administrative feasibility.
Consequences A well-reasoned settlement saves capacity, but a lack of clarity about the calculation can undermine confidence in enforcement.
Right
Arguments A successor should not automatically be treated as criminally responsible for the conduct of an acquired company. The bank should contribute financially if it has taken on the old obligations, however, and should be able to demonstrate that its controls have improved.
Values Ownership, entrepreneurship and individual liability.
Consequences Overly broad liability could discourage takeovers; too little responsibility could keep complex financial structures attractive.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The article’s core is supported by an independent news source and UBS’s statement. The text clearly distinguishes between a settlement, allegations and a court conviction.
- confirmed UBS is paying €5 million to the Dutch Public Prosecution Service. — The amount appears in the news coverage and in UBS’s statement. source
- confirmed The case concerns twelve former Dutch clients and the period 2005–2015. — This is stated in UBS’s statement about the legacy case. source
- confirmed Credit Suisse was taken over by UBS in 2023. — UBS announced the takeover in March 2023. source
- confirmed The settlement does not constitute an admission of criminal liability. — UBS explicitly states this in its statement. source
Editor's note
The settlement, the amount, the period, the number of clients and the absence of an admission of criminal liability were checked against a news source and UBS’s own statement.Sources
- Miljoenenboete voor Zwitserse bank UBS om hulp aan zwartspaarders — Metro Nieuws
- UBS: Reaches Agreement in Legacy Dutch Credit Suisse Case — UBS Group AG via MarketScreener
- UBS to acquire Credit Suisse — UBS
More on this in Dutch media
- de Volkskrant — „ubs credit suisse”
- NU.nl — „ubs credit suisse”
- De Telegraaf — „ubs credit suisse”