08/12/2014
Julius Baer under investigation in CO2 market fraud case
p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } An investigation in June, a fine of EUR3.8m: the Swiss bank Julius Baer is not being spared the fury of the Paris judges. The firm is suspected of having allowed a gigantic VAT fraud on the CO2 emission quota market to have taken place from one of its accounts based in Singapore, Les Echos reports. The judges accuse the bank of having failed to carry out the necessary verifications, though signs of their dubious origins of the funds could have alerted them. The tax authorities, for their part, are filing a civil suit. The investigation of Julius Baer was ordered by investigating judge Guillaume Daïeff as part of the so-called “twilight” case, so called after a company which had been trading on the carbon emission quota markets. As part of the case, fictional companies were purchasing CO2 emission rights tax free in foreign countries, and then reselling them in France at prices which included VAT. The funds were then invested in another operation. VAT was never paid to the state. The proceeds of this fraud are then thought to have been distributed over more than 100 accounts in several banks worldwide. One of these accounts is alleged to have been held at Julius Baer. In its defence, the bank states that it is cooperating “with the French authorities as part of legal opportunities offered to clarify the situation and preserve its interests.”
