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Investigators Search Paris Offices Of UBS In Tax Evasion Probe
Tom Burroughes
20 September 2012
The Paris
offices of UBS have been searched as part of an investigation into allegedly
aiding tax evasion, suggesting that a probe of the firm’s French wealth
management activities is gaining momentum. The move was part of a broader enquiry which saw the bank's
offices in Bordeaux, Strasbourg
and Lyon searched in July. "The examining magistrate Guillaume Daieff indeed went
to the Parisian headquarters of UBS France as part of his enquiry," the
bank was quoted by Reuters as saying in
a statement, adding that the bank was cooperating with the probe. Agence France Presse,
citing a source, reported that two people had already been placed under
investigation as part of the probe. The search was carried out by about 10
investigators from France's
National Customs Service, the publication said. Prosecutors in April opened a preliminary investigation into
the French activities of UBS, suspected of marketing financial placements aimed
at allowing subscribers to hide funds from tax inspectors, reports said. "UBS (France) S.A. is fully cooperating with the French authorities," a spokesperson for UBS told WealthBriefing.