Tax Notes reports that private Swiss bank Bank Frey & Co. AG announced October 17 that it will cease operations, further fallout from the United States' enforcement efforts against offshore banks generally and Swiss banks in particular.
Bank Frey is the subject of an ongoing Justice Department tax evasion investigation. It would therefore not qualify for the DOJ's new voluntary disclosure program for Swiss banks. The bank was in the news in April when its former head of private banking, Stefan Buck, was charged along with Swiss lawyer Edgar Paltzer with conspiracy to help U.S. clients file false tax returns and commit tax evasion. Paltzer pleaded guilty to the charges on August 16; Buck remains at large.
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