FT: Switzerland’s oldest private bank to close after enabling US tax evasion

The bank, founded in 1741, agreed on Thursday to pay $57.8m in restitution and fines to US authorities

Wegelin, Switzerland’s oldest private bank, is to close after pleading guilty to helping US citizens evade paying taxes on $1.2bn held in offshore accounts.

The bank, founded in 1741, agreed on Thursday to pay $57.8m in restitution and fines to US authorities in an admission that marked the first guilty plea by a non-US bank to a role in a tax evasion scheme.

In a statement on Thursday from its headquarters in the small Swiss town of St Gallen, Wegelin said: “Once the matter is finally concluded, Wegelin will cease to operate as a bank.”