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Morning Risk Report: Swiss Bank to Pay $60.4 Million for Helping Americans Evade Taxes |
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A man enters the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington on March 10, 2016. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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A Swiss bank struck a deferred-prosecution agreement with U.S. authorities, admitting it helped Americans avoid their tax obligations for a decade.
The admission: Basler Kantonalbank admitted that from 2002 to 2012 it conspired with its employees, external asset managers and clients to defraud the U.S. on taxes, commit tax evasion and file false federal tax returns, prosecutors said.
Swiss secrecy: The Basel bank promoted Swiss bank secrecy as a way to conceal assets and income from U.S. taxes, provided numbered accounts, and allowed accounts to be opened through nominee entities established in tax havens, prosecutors said.
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The penalty: The bank agreed to pay a total of $60.4 million in penalties when striking the agreement. The penalty is broken up into three parts: $17.2 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, $29.7 million in forfeiture and a $13.5 million criminal fine. Prosecution against the bank will be deferred for three years to allow it to demonstrate good conduct.
Disclosures: The bank also is required under the deferred-prosecution agreement to disclose material it may later uncover regarding American accounts, as well as to disclose information with the Swiss Bank Program concerning accounts closed between 2009 and 2017.
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| Risk & Compliance Newsletter Exclusive |
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A sign at the Serious Fraud Office in London. PHOTO: SERIOUS FRAUD OFFICE
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New U.K. SFO Head Begins Term |
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The new head of the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office, Lisa Osofsky, started her five-year term at the special prosecuting and investigative agency on Tuesday, a week ahead of schedule.
Ms. Ososfsky was appointed in early June to replace David Green as the SFO’s director and is expected to bring fresh insights into the 30-year-old agency at a time of growing cross-border cooperation in corporate crime investigations.
She is a dual American-British citizen and has worked as a federal prosecutor in the U.S.. She was previously the head of investigations and Europe, Middle East and Africa leader for risk and compliance consulting firm Exiger.
Ms. Osofsky’s first public address will be Monday at the International Symposium on Economic Crime at Cambridge University.
-- Mara Lemos Stein
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U.S. Puts Sanctions on Islamic State Recruiters |
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The U.S. Treasury Department put sanctions on three recruiters for Islamic State.
The men urged individuals in Southeast Asia to join Islamic State and were featured in a beheading video in which the men executed captives held by the group, Treasury said.
As a result of the action, the mens' U.S. assets are frozen. The United Nations, which also blacklisted them, imposed a global asset freeze and travel ban.
-- Samuel Rubenfeld
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U.S. Probes Possible Links Between 1MDB and Chris Christie |
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Gartner’s Head of Research Resigns After Workplace Behavior
Probe |
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Peter Sondergaard, who was known for provocative predictions in a fast-changing industry, resigned after an investigation into a complaint filed by an employee.
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Former Barnes & Noble CEO Sues Company Over Firing |
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Swiss Regulators Seek to Soften FinTech Regulations |
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U.S. Launches Effort to Help Employers Comply With Labor
Laws |
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Yahoo, Bucking Industry, Scans Emails for Data to Sell Advertisers |
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CEO of National Enquirer Publisher Resigns From Postmedia Board |
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David Pecker, the chief executive of the company that publishes the National Enquirer, has stepped down from the board of Postmedia Network Canada Corp., Bloomberg reported.
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The move comes days after it was announced that Pecker was granted immunity by federal prosecutors for providing information about Michael Cohen and President Trump in the criminal investigation into hush-money payments for two women during the 2016 presidential campaign.
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Didi Halts Carpool Service Again in China After Passenger Killed |
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Readers can subscribe to The Morning Risk Report here: http://on.wsj.com/MorningRiskReportSignup. Follow us on Twitter at @WSJRisk.
Follow the WSJ Risk & Compliance Team on Twitter: @WSJRisk, @srubenfeld and @LikelyMara.
Send complaints, comments and kudos to Samuel Rubenfeld at samuel.rubenfeld@wsj.com.
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