According to the terms of the non-prosecution agreement signed today, Schaffhauser Kantonalbank (SHKB) agrees to cooperate in any related criminal or civil proceedings, demonstrate its implementation of controls to stop misconduct involving undeclared U.S. accounts and pay penalties in return for the department’s agreement not to prosecute this bank for tax-related criminal offenses.
SHKB is a regional Swiss bank that was founded in 1883 and operates out of its headquarters in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. All seven of SHKB’s locations are within the Canton of Schaffhausen, and all branches are within a radius of 10 miles of its headquarters. As a cantonal bank, SHKB is obliged to service primarily the residents of the Canton of Schaffhausen and the surrounding areas.
Through its managers, employees and others, SHKB knew or had reason to know that some U.S. taxpayers who had opened and maintained accounts at SHKB were not complying with their U.S. income tax and reporting obligations. SHKB offered a variety of traditional Swiss banking services that it knew could assist, and that did in fact assist, U.S.
clients in the concealment of assets and income from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). One such service was hold mail, through which SHKB would hold all mail correspondence for a particular client at SHKB. It also offered code name or numbered account services, where SHKB would allow the accountholder to replace his or her identity with a code name or number on bank statements and other documentation sent to the client. These services helped U.S. clients to eliminate the paper trail associated with the undeclared assets and income they held at SHKB in Switzerland. By accepting and maintaining such accounts, SHKB assisted some U.S. taxpayers in evading their U.S. tax obligations.
