A French judge hit UBS with a $5 billion fine in a ruling that doesn't lean on any witness testimony. But there is Swiss bank data on French clients – and a Swiss court holds the key to it.
The Swiss-based bank has shredded the verdict of a French judge of a French judge while doing massive damage control with investors: UBS doesn't feel heard by French justice, which will now hear the entire case on appeal, prolonging the wealth manager's woe by at least another two years.
One of the case's peculiarities – from UBS' point of view – is that no witnesses came forward to testify that they had been approached by bankers in France and encouraged to shift assets to Switzerland to avoid taxes.
Data Trove
But UBS does possess data on roughly 45,000 clients – data that Switzerland's tax authority wants to send to France as part of a legal assistance bid, Swiss weekly «Sonntagszeitung» (in German only, behind paywall) reported. Switzerland's highest court will decide shortly on the handover, which UBS has until now successfully fought.
What of the Swiss government's involvement in the case? CEO Sergio Ermotti and legal chief Markus Diethelm didn't respond when asked last week, but the duo can count on some government relief at least: Swiss lawmakers are calling for UBS to be able to deduct the $5 billion fine from its taxes if the verdict is upheld on appeal, Swiss weekly tabloid «Sonntagsblick» (in German) reported.
