The Biden-Harris Justice Department finally did something right for a change.
A major global bank just got caught red-handed helping the ultra-wealthy hide their money from hardworking American taxpayers.
And Credit Suisse just got slapped with the biggest fine of 2025 for this jaw-dropping scheme.
Swiss bank pleads guilty to massive tax fraud
Credit Suisse Services AG pleaded guilty to conspiring to hide more than $4 billion from the IRS across at least 475 offshore accounts.
This Swiss corporation’s scheme unraveled after a years-long investigation by U.S. law enforcement to uncover financial fraud that cheated American taxpayers.
The Department of Justice announced the guilty plea on Monday, May 5, along with a separate non-prosecution agreement related to similar conduct in Singapore.
“From Jan. 1, 2010, and continuing until about July 2021, Credit Suisse AG, which had ultra-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individual clients around the globe, conspired with employees, U.S. customers, and others to willfully aid U.S. customers in concealing their ownership and control of assets and funds held at the bank,” the Justice Department statement read.
In other words, while regular Americans were faithfully paying their taxes, these banking elites were helping billionaires hide their cash.
Bank employees falsified records and processed fake donations
The bank didn’t just look the other way while wealthy clients dodged taxes.
Credit Suisse bankers actively participated in the fraud by falsifying records, processing fictitious donation paperwork, and servicing more than $1 billion in accounts without proper tax compliance documentation.
What makes this case particularly egregious is that Credit Suisse was already on probation for similar crimes.
In 2014, the bank had entered into a plea agreement with the United States for helping taxpayers evade their obligations. This latest scheme means Credit Suisse broke that agreement and committed entirely new crimes.
“Between 2014 and June 2023, Credit Suisse AG Singapore held undeclared accounts for U.S. persons, which Credit Suisse AG Singapore knew or should have known were U.S., with total assets valued at over $2 billion,” the Justice Department reported.
UBS discovers the scheme after merger
The fraud might have continued even longer if not for an unexpected development.
In 2023, UBS acquired Credit Suisse in a major banking merger. During the post-merger integration process, UBS discovered accounts at Credit Suisse’s Singapore branch that appeared to be undeclared U.S. accounts.
To their credit, UBS didn’t try to hide the problem. The bank froze some of the suspicious accounts, voluntarily disclosed information to the Justice Department, and cooperated with the investigation.
Under the resolution announced Monday, Credit Suisse Services AG and its new parent company UBS AG must cooperate fully with ongoing investigations and disclose any additional information they discover about U.S.-related accounts.
Bank hit with over half a billion in penalties
When all was said and done, Credit Suisse agreed to pay a total of $510,608,909 in penalties, restitution, forfeiture, and fines.
That’s not pocket change, even for a global banking giant.
The investigation was led by Special Agents from IRS Criminal Investigation’s International Tax & Financial Crimes specialty group, a Washington, D.C.-based team dedicated to uncovering international tax crimes.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Chief Guy Ficco of IRS Criminal Investigation announced the guilty plea.
While this case represents a rare victory for the Justice Department, it highlights the ongoing battle against financial elites who believe the rules don’t apply to them.
How many more major banks are helping the ultra-wealthy hide their money while everyday Americans dutifully pay their taxes?
Regular Americans face crushing tax burdens while the global elites play games with offshore accounts and fake charitable donations.
Would Americans be better served by a simpler, fairer tax system that treated everyone the same?