UBS will appeal French court's judgment in cross-border matter
Regulatory News:
The French trial court today issued its judgment on the cross-border matter finding UBS AG guilty and UBS (France) SA of illicit
solicitation and laundering of the proceeds of tax fraud and assessed a penalty of EUR 3.7 billion and EUR 15 million respectively
and civil damages of EUR 800 million.
UBS strongly disagrees with the verdict. The bank has consistently contested any criminal wrongdoing in this case throughout the
investigation and during the trial. The conviction is not supported by any concrete evidence, but instead is based on the unfounded
allegations of former employees who were not even heard at the trial. No evidence was provided that any French client was solicited
on French soil by a UBS AG client advisor to open an account in Switzerland. As no offence in France was established, the decision
effectively applies French law in Switzerland. This undermines the sovereignty of Swiss law and poses significant questions of
territoriality. The judgement does not depart from preconceived notions, incriminating the bank based on the fact that it offered
certain legitimate and standard services under Swiss law that are also common in other jurisdictions.
The verdict also lacks proof and a credible methodology for the calculation of the fine and damages. The charges of laundering
the proceeds of tax fraud are without merit, as the predicate offence of an original tax fraud of French tax payers was not proven.
UBS respected and followed its obligations under Swiss and French law as well as the European Tax Savings directive, which came
into force in 2004.
UBS will appeal the verdict and evaluate whether the written decision requires any additional steps. Under French law, an appeal
suspends the judgment of the trial court and leads to a transfer of the case to the Court of Appeals which then retries the case in
its entirety.
UBS Group AG and UBS AG
Notice to investors
This document and the information contained herein are provided solely for information purposes, and are not to be construed as
a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments in Switzerland, the United States or any
other jurisdiction. No investment decision relating to securities of or relating to UBS Group AG, UBS AG or their affiliates should
be made on the basis of this document. Refer to UBS Group AG’s fourth quarter 2018 report, UBS Group AG's and UBS AG's third
quarter 2018 report and the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2017 for additional information. These
reports are available at
www.ubs.com/investors.
Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements
This document contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements. While these statements represent UBS’s judgments
and expectations concerning the matters described, a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors could cause actual
developments and results to differ materially from UBS’s expectations. Additional information about those factors is set forth in
documents furnished and filings made by UBS with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including UBS Group AG’s fourth quarter
2018 report, UBS Group AG's and UBS AG's third quarter 2018 report and the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31
December 2017. UBS undertakes no obligation to update the information contained herein. UBS specifically prohibits the
redistribution or reproduction of this material in whole or in part without the prior written permission of UBS, and UBS accepts no
liability whatsoever for the actions of third parties in this respect.
Investor contact
Switzerland: +41-44-234 41 00
Media contact
Switzerland: +41-44-234 85 00
UK: +44-207-567 47 14
Americas: +1-212-882 58 57
APAC: +852-297-1 82 00
www.ubs.com/media
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190220005528/en/