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French arm of UBS faces probe into possible witness tampering

Investigation by the French authorities into the French section of the Swiss bank follows a complaint by a former employee.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

The Swiss banking giant UBS said on Thursday that its business in France had been placed under formal investigation by the French authorities for possible witness tampering after a complaint by a former employee, reports The New York Times.

The announcement of the inquiry came less than two weeks after judges in France concluded a 19-month investigation into whether the bank helped French clients hide funds from the country’s national tax administration from 2004 to 2012. The judges are in the process of determining whether to send that case to trial.

On Thursday, UBS said that a judge in France had decided to put the bank under “formal examination” for potentially interfering with a witness, but not for “moral harassment,” another accusation by the former employee who made the complaint.

“We strongly deny these allegations and are confident that we can vigorously defend our rights and position,” UBS said in a news release.

The inquiry is the latest headache for UBS.

Read more of this report from The New York Times.