New York Paralegal Blog

Credit Suisse, a major Swiss bank, has been caught in a web of financial deceit. The bank's subsidiary, Credit Suisse Services AG, recently pleaded guilty to conspiring with employees and customers to help hide over $4 billion in undeclared offshore accounts. This scheme allowed wealthy U.S. clients to evade taxes and reporting requirements, a serious crime. The guilty plea and a separate non-prosecution agreement were filed in court on or around May 5, 2025, marking a significant step in a years-long investigation. The Deal: Plea Agreement vs. Non-Prosecution Agreement (NPA) This case is unique because it involves two separate legal agreements. Guilty Plea: Credit Suisse Services AG pleaded guilty to hiding the $4 billion in offshore accounts. This is a formal admission of guilt for the conspiracy. Non-Prosecution Agreement (NPA): In addition to the guilty plea, the bank entered into an NPA for its separate misconduct in Singapore. An NPA is a legal deal between the go...

WASHINGTON – Markus Walder, former head of North America Offshore Banking at an international bank headquartered in Zurich; Susanne D. Rüegg Meier, a former manager with the international bank; Andreas Bachmann, a former banker at a subsidiary of the international bank; and Josef Dörig, the founder of a Swiss trust company, have been charged with conspiring with other Swiss bankers to defraud the United States, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. The four are charged in a superseding indictment together with four other defendants (Marco Parenti Adami, Emanuel Agustino, Michele Bergantino and Roger Schaerer) who were charged in an indictment returned on Feb. 23, 2011.

Defendants Aided Wealthy Americans Conceal Assets in Secret Swiss Bank Accounts WASHINGTON - Hansruedi Schumacher and Matthias Rickenbach, both of Switzerland, were indicted today for conspiring to defraud the United States, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. According to the indictment, Schumacher worked as an executive manager at Neue Zuercher Bank (NZB), a Swiss private bank located in Zurich, Switzerland. Rickenbach worked as a Swiss attorney who provided legal advice and services to U.S. clients. Both are alleged to have aided wealthy Americans conceal assets and income in Switzerland from United States authorities. According to the indictment, Schumacher and Rickenbach helped wealthy American clients conceal their assets by establishing sham and nominee offshore entities to hide their U.S. clients' assets and income while allowing these clients to still control the assets and make investment decisions. The indictment further alleges tha...

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today announced that the agreement with the Swiss government has been finalized. As a result of the agreement, the United States will receive substantially all of the accounts of interest when it initiated the John Doe summons against UBS on June 30, 2008. Under the agreement, the IRS will submit a treaty request to the Swiss government describing the specific accounts for which it is requesting information. The Swiss government will then direct UBS to initiate procedures to turn over information on thousands of accounts to the IRS. The IRS will receive information on accounts of various amounts and types, including bank-only accounts, custody accounts in which securities or other investment assets were held and offshore company nominee accounts through which an individual indirectly held beneficial ownership in the accounts. Also, the agreement retains the U.S. Government’s right, if the results are signifi...

The Department of Justice, UBS and the Swiss government have requested a stay with a rescheduled hearing date of Aug. 3, 2009, in the proceedings for enforcement of the summons ordering UBS to turn over records of account holders. The stay was requested in order to provide the parties additional time to discuss a possible alternative resolution of the matter. The parties have agreed that any alternative resolution reached would necessarily include a provision requiring UBS to provide the Internal Revenue Service information on a significant number of individuals with UBS accounts. If an alternative resolution is not reached, the Department of Justice will continue to vigorously pursue enforcement of the summons through the court.

WASHINGTON – Raoul Weil, a senior executive of a large Swiss bank with offices worldwide, including the United States, has been charged with conspiring with other executives, managers, private bankers and clients of the banking firm to defraud the United States, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. According to the criminal indictment, between 2002 and 2007, Weil oversaw the Swiss bank’s cross-border private banking business that provided services to some 20,000 U.S. clients who reportedly concealed approximately $20 billion in assets from the IRS. Weil, who allegedly referred to this business as "toxic waste," mandated that Swiss bankers grow the cross-border business, despite knowing that this would cause bankers to violate U.S. law. More...