Sources are reporting that banking giant Credit Suisse is expected to plead guilty to U.S. charges of assisting American citizens evade U.S. taxes. The deal currently being negotiated would include a fine of more than $1 billion.
Credit Suisse representatives are not commenting on the negotiations, but it’s been widely reported that agreements hinge on whether U.S. prosecutors and financial regulators for New York state and for the Federal Reserve can agree on an offer to the bank that will elicit a guilty plea and agreement on the massive fine but will not later result in a regulatory decision to revoke the bank’s charter to operate in New York, a move which would be akin to a business ‘death penalty’ for a bank.
Attorney General Eric Holder stirred up criticism and frustration in 2013 when he wondered publically whether some financial institutions had become too big to hold accountable for violations given their importance to the American and global economies. He has repeatedly backtracked from that question and on Monday posted a video statement in which he said that “there is no such thing as too big to jail” and reasserted his position that no companies are beyond prosecution.
He also touted the efforts between federal prosecutors and financial regulators to collaborate on penalties that hold criminal behavior accountable while still taking into account potential economic impacts. Holder said they have made “great strides in improving this type of coordination between our prosecutors and other governmental regulators. This cooperation will prove key in the coming weeks and months as the Justice Department continues to pursue several important investigations.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, Credit Suisse is one of approximately a dozen Swiss banks currently facing criminal investigation in the U.S. for aiding tax evasion by American citizens. Credit Suisse is reported to have spent nearly $800 million in legal fees defending the action.
