PARIS, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Swiss banking group UBS went on trial in Paris on Monday on charges of helping and encouraging the wealthy in France to avoid tax, local media reported.
Executives from UBS and its French unit appeared in a court in the French capital as part of an investigation into aggravated tax fraud and money laundering as well as illegally soliciting clients.
According to two investigative judges Serge Tournaire and Guillaume Daieff, the bank has allowed its French rich clients to evade French taxes whose total value was estimated at 10 billion euros (11.47 billion U.S. dollars) for the 2004-2012 period.
According to the local magazine, L'Express, the mission of some of UBS's bankers consisted in "seducing potential clients they invited to social openings, golf-related events or sports cars and tennis tournaments, evenings at the opera, which they co-organized and co-financed with the French subsidiary."
If convicted, UBS, which had rejected accusations, risks to pay 5 billion euros in fine.
The court will announce its decision mid-November. Enditem
