UBS Bars Staff From Entering France

Stephen Little

6 May 2014

, the Swiss bank, has banned some of its employees from entering France due to fears they could be interviewed in connection with an ongoing tax investigation, reports Swiss radio and television firm RTS.

According to RTS, UBS has told “dozens of employees” that they are not allowed to travel to France and those that fail to comply could face dismissal.

The French unit of UBS has been under investigation by French authorities since June last year for allegedly soliciting French clients to open accounts designed to evade taxes in Switzerland.

A UBS spokesperson declined to comment after being contacted by this publication.

Last year, UBS was fined €10 million (about $13.1 million) by France’s Prudential Supervisory Authority for what the regulator called "lax" controls in business practices relating to tax evasion.

The Sanctions Committee of the ACP, which had opened disciplinary proceedings in April 2012, also reprimanded the French subsidiary of the Swiss bank. It said its actions did not pre-judge other actions it may take against Switzerland's biggest bank.

Last week, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority banned a former UBS trader for failings related to rogue trader Kweku Mawuli Adoboli, who ran up losses of $2.3 million.

The FCA said that John Hughes, Adoboli's supervisor, had failed to adequately supervise Adoboli and did not challenge him regarding unauthorised trading. For more on this story, click here.