European court rejects UBS appeal to overturn bail in French tax case
Xinhua, January 13, 2017 Adjust font size:
The European Court of Human Rights has decided to uphold a French court order that the Swiss bank UBS must pay hefty bail over its suspected role in a massive tax fraud case.
The Strasbourg-based court said Thursday that judges have "unanimously" rejected the bank's application to challenge the order.
The bail constituted an interim measure which did not prejudge the outcome of the proceedings and that the amount will be paid back to UBS if it is found not guilty, said the court.
The Swiss bank went to the human rights court in 2015 after it was ordered by French judges to pay bail of 1.1 billion euros for allegedly wooing rich French clients to open secret bank accounts.
UBS is suspected of having setting up, between 2004 and 2012, a system to incite rich French clients to have bank accounts in Switzerland without the knowledge of French tax authorities, a fact that the ECHR called an "unacceptable behavior which may affect the state's resources and its ability to act for common interests." Endi