The oldest Swiss bank Wegelin & Co is wrapping up an existence that has spanned more than 270 years
http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newsbusiness/aap/8588889/us-tax-deal-seals-oldest-swiss-banks-fate
Wegelin, which was founded in 1741 and based in St Gallen, eastern Switzerland, unveiled late on Thursday an agreement with US federal prosecutors in New York that includes penalties worth a total of $US57.8 million ($A55.47 million) for helping wealthy individuals avoid at least $US20 million in taxes.
“Wegelin was aware that this conduct was wrong,” said Otto Bruderer, one of the bank’s managing partners, as he entered a guilty plea on behalf of the bank to one count of conspiracy.
“However, Wegelin believed that, as a practical matter, it would not be prosecuted in the United States for this conduct because it had no branches or offices in the United States and because of its understanding that it acted in accordance with, and not in violation of, Swiss law and that such conduct was common in the Swiss banking industry,” he added.
The bank had carried out operations in the United States via an account with UBS, and the case marked the first time that US justice officials have charged a bank, rather than individuals, as part of a crackdown on overseas tax evasion, Dow Jones Newswires said.
US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara called the agreement a “watershed moment in our efforts to hold to account both the individuals and the banks – wherever they may be in the world – who are engaging in unlawful conduct that deprives the US treasury of billions of dollars of tax revenue”.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the court could sentence the Swiss bank on March 4, formally endorsing the agreement and putting an end to further prosecution of Wegelin in the United States.
Wegelin had essentially stopped operating as a bank in late January 2012 to focus on the US case.
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i find it strange that this bank just shuts up shop..yeah they have broken laws..but which ones havent?
does anyone know what those creatures are in the logo..they look like a phoenix of sorts..
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Probably a crossbred, you know how those elite like to interbreed. Half gargoyle, half Pheonix?
yeah that sounds right..its definitely a phoenix with the lip at the back of the head..and gargoyle is the other elite fave..see a gargoyle its an illuminati production..
hmmm, i recently read that the oldest continually-run company in the world – a japanese construction company founded 1400 years ago – was sold in 2006.
who sells when your company is the oldest fucking company in the world? it’s just weird.
the new has to destroy the old. a theme we’ve visited many times. perhaps the old guard of swiss banks, japanese familes, and everything else we’ve known is the ‘old’ that is being replaced.
pretty good theory mate..stated in 2001 i feel..around september..
sounds right to me xxx….you can’t have a Old New World Order…hmm or can you?
This animal is a Gryphon or Griffin, It’s a mythological creature with the head, talons and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. Used to be the guardian of treasures and the gold, according to some ancient myths….no wonder a bank using this kind of symbolism.
Ahh the griffin of course. Many thanks for that.
Yes, that’s it.