Swiss bank UBS fined £3.2bn by French court

A Paris court has ordered Swiss bank UBS to pay 3.7 billion euros (£3.2 billion) in fines for helping wealthy French clients evade tax authorities.

The criminal court convicted UBS of aggravated money laundering and illegal bank soliciting.

French media reported that the huge fine was a record sum for a bank in France.

UBS, one of the world’s largest wealth management banks, said there is no evidence of wrongdoing and that the case was politically driven.

Investigators said the Swiss bank sent employees to solicit wealthy executives or athletes during sport or music events in France, urging them to place their money in Switzerland.

The assets illegally concealed by French clients in Switzerland in 2004-2012 allegedly amounted to some 10 billion euros (£8.7 billion).