A former Swiss banker has pleaded guilty to fraud following nearly two years under limited home confinement imposed by the US government, Reuters reports.

Christos Bagios pleaded guilty on Tuesday in federal court in Florida to one count of conspiring to defraud the US government of around $1 million while employed at UBS, the news service said. Bagios avoided five years in jail and a $250,000 fine but was sentenced to time already served.

He was arrested in January 2011 in New York, and originally charged with helping some 150 wealthy Americans evade up to $500 million. The investigation is part of a much wider crackdown by the US government on Swiss banks and tax evasion which saw UBS pay $780 million to settle criminal charges in 2009. It is understood that at least 11 banks are under criminal investigation in the US.

Bagios is now free to retrieve his passport and travel, the report said, and will return to Switzerland where his wife and children live.