UBS Hit With Record Penalty After Money-Laundering Conviction
- $5.1 billion in fines, damages levied for money laundering
- Case hinged on UBS’s role in helping French clients hide money
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A French judge has handed UBS Group AG a fine and damages of 4.5 billion euros ($5.1 billion), the largest penalty ever meted out to a Swiss bank, after it was found guilty of helping conceal its French clients’ assets.
The fine of 3.7 billion euros matched what French prosecutors were seeking, while the French state had asked the court for nearly double the 800 million euros in damages that Judge Christine Mee on Wednesday afternoon in Paris ordered UBS to pay. The Zurich-based bank said it “strongly disagrees” with the verdict which is “not supported by any concrete evidence” and will appeal the verdict.