(Reuters) -
Swiss bank Pictet said on Sunday it handed over bank account details to U.S.
authorities probing cases of tax evasion, as a newspaper reported it had
accepted funds from two former UBS (UBSN.VX) clients suspected of having
cheated on taxes.
Pictet said
in a statement the data handover took place in November 2010 via the Swiss tax
office, which had received a request for assistance from its U.S. counterparts.
This is the
latest episode in an ongoing dispute between the United States and Switzerland
over wealthy Americans accused of avoiding taxes by hiding money in secret
Swiss accounts.
Eleven
Swiss banks - including Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) and Julius Baer (BAER.VX) but
not Pictet - are under scrutiny by the United States for aiding U.S. citizens
suspected of tax dodging.
Banking
secrecy has helped the Swiss build up a $2 trillion offshore wealth management
industry.
Citing 130
pages of court documents, the SonntagsZeitung said that two U.S. citizens transferred
more than $2 million to accounts at the private bank Pictet, registered under
the names of two front companies in Switzerland, at a time when UBS was under
scrutiny by U.S. authorities investigating tax evasion.
The
article, which was also carried in the French-language Le Matin Dimanche, did
not say whether the U.S. authorities might take action against Pictet.
In its
statement, Pictet did not say from which bank it had received a money transfer
or how much it was. The Geneva-based bank said it closed the accounts in 2010.
Pictet said
it was not being accused of breaking U.S. law.
"Moreover,
we vigorously refute any allegation that Pictet is being targeted by the U.S.
tax authorities," it said, adding there had been no subsequent data
handovers after November 2010.
"The
affair referred to in the Sunday newspapers was handled in full compliance with
US and Swiss legal requirements," it said.
Finance
Ministry spokesman Roland Meier declined to comment on the report.
The
investigation into the 11 Swiss banks was fed by data culled in a crackdown on
UBS, which that bank settled in 2009 by handing over thousands of client data,
paying a fine and admitting wrong-doing.
In a
related interview with the SonntagsZeitung, Patrick Odier, president of the
Swiss Bankers Association, said another case like that of Wegelin & Co.
could not be ruled out.
Wegelin,
Switzerland's oldest bank, buckled under the pressure of a long-running
campaign by U.S. tax authorities and broke itself up in January. Wegelin had
accepted money from UBS clients suspected of dodging tax.
"U.S.
authorities could have enough material to weigh on banks other than those on
the 11-bank list," Odier said.
Switzerland
is trying to get investigations into 11 banks dropped in return for the payment
of fines and the transfer of U.S. client names. It is also seeking a deal to
shield the remainder of its 300 or so banks from U.S. prosecution.
Swiss
Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf has said she hoped for a deal before
the end of the year.
"We
need to draw a line under it, so there are no more charges," Odier said.
Odier also
said he did not know how high any fines would be, but that any money due would
be divided up amongst the Swiss banks based on the size of their U.S. client
base.
Switzerland
has also been locked in a similar tax dispute with Germany. The two countries
last year agreed to tax secret offshore accounts but are still arguing over
whether the deal is too lenient or not.
"Switzerland
has made many concessions to Germany," Odier was quoted as saying. "More
is not possible."
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