Appeal process in Paris – tax fraud: points victory for UBS – billion-dollar buses shrink – News

• In UBS’s Paris appeal process for tax fraud, the French public prosecutor’s office requested confirmation of the first-instance judgments.

• The fines, on the other hand, should be significantly lower.

• After the first trial, the claim was 4.5 billion euros. The total fine is now 3 billion euros.

Little has changed in terms of the facts of the case in the appeal process: UBS is accused of having incited French clients to smuggle money past the tax authorities. The prosecutors see it as proven that UBS sent employees to France between 2004 and 2012 to attract wealthy customers, as the AFP news agency reported on Monday.

New law could reduce fines

Time could play into the hands of the big bank: as of recently, qualified tax fraud is no longer fined so heavily in France. The basis of calculation is no longer the incriminated assets, but only the taxes actually evaded.

This would mean that UBS would have to pay significantly less in the Paris tax evasion case than initially ordered. The total fine is now 3 billion euros. In the 2019 trial, the bank was sentenced to a fine of 3.7 billion euros and 800 million in damages – a total of 4.5 billion.

UBS itself does not comment on the developments at the Paris court, as the proceedings are ongoing, as a spokesman said at the request of the AWP news agency. The process will last until tomorrow, Wednesday. However, weeks or months could pass before a judgment is reached.