Credit Suisse's guilty plea following allegations that it helped wealthy Americans avoid paying taxes was accepted by a federal judge last week.

Credit Suisse's guilty plea following allegations that it helped wealthy Americans avoid paying taxes was accepted by a federal judge last week.

The Swiss banking giant pleaded guilty in May to the Justice Department to helping clients use secret offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes.

The Zurich-listed bank will pay a total of $2.6 billion with approximately $1.8 billion in a criminal fine and restitution, $100 million to the Federal Reserve and $715 million to the New York State Department of Financial Services.

The guilty plea was the first by a global bank in more than a decade.

The sentencing of the Swiss corporation is the result of a years-long investigation by US law enforcement authorities.

“As we expand our offshore investigations, not just in Switzerland, but around the world, the message to banks who engaged in these crimes is clear—step forward, accept responsibility for your past conduct, and help us hold responsible the US taxpayers who benefitted, and the individuals who assisted them.  Only through full cooperation will you avoid the most severe sanctions,” said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

As part of the plea agreement, Credit Suisse acknowledged that for decades through to 2009 it had assisted thousands of US clients in concealing their offshore assets and income from the Internal Revenue Service.

Credit Suisse employed a variety of means to help US clients hide their undeclared accounts, including assisting clients in using sham entities; failing to maintain records in the US related to accounts; and structuring transfers of funds to evade currency transaction reporting requirements.