Restaurant Owners, Managers Take Plea In Tax Evasion Case

(Matthew Wild)

The wait staff knows your name and order by heart.

The Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR) (CS) on Monday pleaded guilty to its collusion with some American clients to deceive US tax authorities. Credit Suisse’s plea is the largest by any bank in the last 20 years; the bank will pay authorities a penalty of $2.6 billion. Despite being tasked with the largest-ever offshore tax fine, Credit Suisse will retain its top management. Its license to operate in New York is also intact.

The Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR) (CS) on Monday pleaded guilty to its collusion with some American clients to deceive US tax authorities. Credit Suisse’s plea is the largest by any bank in the last 20 years; the bank will pay authorities a penalty of $2.6 billion. Despite being tasked with the largest-ever offshore tax fine, Credit Suisse will retain its top management. Its license to operate in New York is also intact.

The owner of a Massachusetts restaurant thought that he knew what service dogs look like, and the terrier in his dining didn’t fit the profile. “It just looked like a regular mutt,” he told a reporter.

The plea, in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, marks the death knell for one of Switzerland’s most storied banks, whose original European clients pre-date the American Revolution. It is also potentially a major turning point in a battle by U.S. authorities against Swiss bank secrecy.