Two more Swiss banks settle with U.S. over tax offenses

(Reuters) - Two more Swiss banks, Rothschild Bank AG and Banca Credinvest SA, settled with U.S. authorities as part of a voluntary program to avoid prosecution over allegations they helped Americans evade taxes, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday.

Rothschild Bank will pay $11.5 million and Banca Credinvest will pay $3 million to resolve the probes, prosecutors said.

Seven other banks have settled since March with the Justice Department, and dozens more of the about 100 banks that signed up to the scheme are expected to settle this year.

The Justice Department program, which launched in 2013, lets Swiss banks avoid criminal charges by disclosing cross-border activities that helped U.S. account holders hide their assets and income from U.S tax authorities.

Banks already under criminal investigation, such as Julius Baer and HSBC's Swiss private bank, are excluded from the program.

Banks must provide detailed information on the accounts of U.S. taxpayers under investigation as part of the deals.

"The bank agreements announced today continue to change the landscape in the offshore banking world," said Richard Weber, chief of the IRS unit in charge of criminal investigations. "With each additional agreement, the world where criminals can hide their money is becoming smaller and smaller."

Zurich-based Rothschild Bank was one of a number of banks that signed up customers who fled other large Swiss banks, such as UBS AG, after they were criminally investigated for tax offenses by U.S. authorities, prosecutors said.

Since that time, Rothschild Bank had 332 U.S.-related accounts with a total balance of about $1.5 billion, prosecutors said.

A spokesman for Rothschild Bank said the bank had already set aside provisions that would cover the penalty and related costs.

Banca Credinvest did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

By Lindsay Dunsmuir (Reuters)