Swiss banking giant UBS (NYSE:UBS) is being investigated by the Belgian authorities for alleged tax fraud and money laundering.
"The Swiss bank is suspected of having directly, and not via its Belgian sUBSidiary, approached Belgian clients to convince them to set up constructions aimed at evading taxes," prosecutors said in a statement.
The prosecutors also praised the French authorities for their assistance in the investigation. The French authorities kicked off a probe into UBS's activities in July 2014, investigating allegations that UBS had been advising clients to open accounts in Switzerland between the years 2004 and 2012, in order to avoid paying tax.
UBS, which said it would defend itself “against unfounded allegations”, is also under investigation in the US, where authorities are trying to ascertain whether the bank allowed its customers to hide their riches from the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) and thus reduce their tax bill.
It is not the bank's first run-in with the Belgian authorities, as Marcel Bruehwiler, the chief executive of UBS's Belgian business, was charged in 2014 for money laundering and other crimes.