Credit Suisse Clients Asked To Give Evidence Over Tax Evasion Allegations

Ilya Timofeyev

13 August 2010

The German business of Credit Suisse is in the firing line of the country's tax authorities with Düsseldorf prosecutors questioning around 1,500 of the bank’s clients as part of a probe into allegations that the bank's employees may have assisted in tax evasion, WealthBriefing can confirm.

Almost 1,500 Credit Suisse customers have received a questionnaire from the Düsseldorf authorities, a spokesperson for the prosecution office told this publication.

The document consists of 24 questions and, according to Tages Anzeiger - which saw the questionnaire - the bank’s clients were asked why they chose the bank and whether they were told by the bank’s employees directly or indirectly that their assets should not be taxed.

The spokesperson added that all the clients are being treated as witnesses and the initial task of the inquiry is to establish the truth and to get a general understanding of the problem.

However, if Credit Suisse employees are found guilty under German law they could face penalties ranging from a fine to five years of imprisonment, said the spokesperson.