A French court rejected UBS' appeal of a criminal conviction nearly three years ago over tax evasion and money laundering. The Swiss bank's fine was lowered to $2 billion.
A Parisian appeals court rejected Zurich-based UBS' request to reverse a February 2019 verdict which found the bank guilty of assisting tax evasion and money laundering, according to newswire reports on Monday. It was ordered to pay 1.8 billion euros ($2.03 billion) in damages.
UBS has long fought the charges, which have wider implications for other Swiss wealth managers active in France. The bank has stowed 450 million euros against a penalty, which was set at 4.5 billion euros when UBS was convicted – far higher than what it was on Monday ordered to pay.
«Decision Very Quickly»
The Swiss bank, which has enlisted a series of political former A-listers as well as one of France's highest-profile criminal defense lawyers, can appeal the decision. It isn't immediately clear whether it will do so (a spokesman for the bank didn't comment). Hervé Temine, its lead lawyer in Paris, voiced disappointment that the criminal conviction wasn't overturned on appeal.
«Compared to the first instance ruling, there is a financial gain of 2.7 billion euros, but it is a criminal conviction and therefore we will make our decision very quickly,» Temine told the «Financial Times» (behind paywall) on Monday following the ruling.
