Scott Michel Comments on Credit Suisse's Guilty Plea

Caplin & Drysdale's President Scott D. Michel spoke with the Swiss media concerning Credit Suisse's admission to a US court that it set up sham companies to enable clients to unlawfully funnel assets away from the Internal Revenue Service.  Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second largest bank, has been fined more than $2.6 billion.  The bank agreed on Monday to pay out $1.8 billion to the federal authorities, $715 million to the New York state banking regulator, and $100 million to the Federal Reserve.  For the full story, please visit Swissinfo's website.

Excerpt taken from the article.

US tax lawyer Scott Michel told swissinfo.ch that Credit Suisse's punishment is more severe than that imposed on UBS in 2009 for similar offences. UBS "escaped" with a $780 million fine under a less embarrassing deferred prosecution process negotiated with the Department of Justice (DoJ).

"The DOJ's decision to indict a major worldwide bank, rather than go the route of a deferred prosecution agreement, obviously reflects a judgment as to the severity of the underlying conduct," Michel said. "Going through an indictment is certainly a more serious event."