UBS pays €1.1-billion bail in French 'tax fraud' case

Swiss banking giant UBS has made a €1.1-billion bail payment for allegedly helping rich French clients to hide money in Switzerland, a lawyer for the bank said on Tuesday.

The payment "has been made, subject to the legal recourse open to UBS," said the lawyer, Denis Chemla.

The bank was charged with tax fraud in July and ordered to pay the hefty bail. It appealed, but the appeals court ruled the amount should stand.

UBS plans to make further appeals but it was ordered to pay the amount by September 30th.

UBS's Swiss business is suspected of illegally canvassing French customers and setting up dual accounts to hide the movement of capital into Switzerland.

The charges relate to money kept in accounts in Switzerland between 2004 and 2012.

A probe was launched after former UBS employees blew the whistle.

UBS denies the charges.

The bank has said it believes it was a "highly politicized process that from the beginning of the investigation has not followed elementary facets of the rule of law".