UBS risks a billion-dollar fine due in part to her testimony, but a former employee-turned-whistleblower has come up empty in court.
Ever since her 2014 book «La femme qui en savait vraiment trop» [The Woman Who Knew Too Much], Stephanie Gibaud has been UBS' public enemy number one. The French former marketing manager at the Swiss bank's Paris office blew the whistle on alleged tax offenses, feeding France's investigation into UBS.
The court case has turned into UBS' biggest legal headache at the moment: the bank may be fined as much as 5 billion euros ($5.7 billion) if found guilty of money laundering. UBS also runs the risk of an additional 1.6 billion euro fine through a civil case brought by French officials.
Locked in Lawsuits
The high-stakes trial contrasts with the 3,000 euros that Gibaud won off of a French court last week, as news agency «Bloomberg» reported. The 53-year-old had sued the French government for 3.5 million euros for her services as a whistleblower.
Particularly bitter for Gibaud is that the court acknowledged she will not find a commensurate job in finance again after blowing the whistle. But the French judge ultimately found that UBS had already instigated a disciplinary proceeding against Gibaud in 2009 – three years before she was fired by the bank.
Unreliable Witness?
The ruling means that after years of fighting with the Swiss bank, Gibaud is left with next to nothing for her troubles. Since leaving UBS, she has offered to testify against UBS in other countries, as well as sued the bank for mobbing. UBS in turn sued her for defamation.
The ruling could play into UBS' hands: the bank's lawyers had portrayed her as an unreliable witness, dismissing her claims as «not fact-based». The 3,000 euro reward would seem indicate that France also doesn't rate Gibaud's statements very highly.
Stark Contrast
She stands in stark contrast to Bradley Birkenfeld, another UBS whistleblower who was paid $104 million by U.S. officials for reporting on the bank's illicit dealings with tax dodgers. Ironically, Birkenfeld, an American who now lives in Malta, has used the French trial to promote his new book, «Lucifer's Banker». The ex-private banker is also locked in a court case with UBS.
