ZURICH--A private bank that bills itself as the oldest in Zurich
disclosed it is among the 14 Swiss banks currently under
investigation by U.S. authorities for allegedly aiding American tax
evasion.
Rahn & Bodmer Co. partner Christian Rahn said Wednesday that
his bank recently learned it is among so-called category-one Swiss
banks, the group of banks that are already under investigation by
the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Rahn said the bank stopped
dealing with untaxed U.S. funds in 2008, and has advised American
clients to take part in voluntary offshore-disclosure programs
offered by U.S. authorities.
Mr. Rahn said that client use of those disclosure programs,
which have drawn tens of thousands of participants, likely caused
his bank to come under investigation by American authorities.
Rahn & Bodmer, which was founded in 1750, says it has about
200 employees and 12.5 billion Swiss francs ($13.4 billion) in
assets under management.
Banks previously known to be in the group already under
investigation include Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.VX) and Julius
Baer Group (BAER.VX).
As part of an agreement between the U.S. and Swiss governments
late last month, a large chunk of Switzerland's other roughly 300
banks have now been urged to participate in a program that will
have them disclose extensive amounts of data regarding American
accounts on their books.
The participating banks in what is known as category two, which
are thought to have held undeclared U.S. assets, are expected to
pay related fines of as much 50% of the value of those assets in
order to avoid criminal prosecution. Mr. Rahn said he had
previously assumed Rahn & Bodmer would be included in category
two, and as a result it has already begun compiling data on its
U.S. accounts that can be provided to American authorities.
Switzerland's oldest bank, Wegelin & Co., was indicted last
year for aiding American tax cheats, and the bulk of its business
was subsequently sold off to a large retail bank.
UBS AG (UBSN.VX), Switzerland's biggest bank, reached a
deferred-prosecution agreement with the DOJ in 2009. The bank
admitted to aiding American tax evaders and paid a $780 million
fine as part of the agreement.
Write to John Letzing at john.letzing@dowjones.com
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