Credit Suisse said to come under DOJ probe on helping to hide U.S. client assets

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images News

The Department of Justice is investigating Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) to determine whether the troubled Swiss lender kept assisting its U.S. clients with concealing assets totaling hundreds of millions of dollars from the Internal Revenue Service, in a move that could add to a long string of scandals, people with knowledge on the matter told Bloomberg on Tuesday.

The news comes after the bank agreed to pay a $2.6B fine in 2014 while pleading guilty to aiding tax evasion for thousands of Americans. Credit Suisse (CS) could be marked as a repeated offender if the DOJ imposes a financial penalty this time around, though it's unclear whether action will be taken.

Meanwhile, the DOJ has assessed allegations raised by whistleblowers who said bankers at Credit Suisse (CS) did indeed assist more Americans with hiding assets from the U.S. after the 2014 offense, Bloomberg noted, citing a court filing in November 2021.

Credit Suisse (CS) did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Seeking Alpha.

The investigation comes at a bad time as Credit Suisse (CS) is in the process of downsizing its money-losing investment banking business amid cyclical and structural challenges, with its shares down nearly 60% in the past year. Last week, the lender sought an outside investor to bring in some fresh capital for a spinoff of its advisory and investment banking units.

Previously, (Oct. 7) Pimpco, Centerbridge on shortlist of bidders for Credit Suisse securitized products.