UBS is accused in Paris tax-evasion trial of tactics akin to schemes in a Bond movie plot

UBS Group AG goes on trial in Paris on Monday accused of encouraging rich clients to stash cash overseas to evade French taxes by deploying tactics “worthy of James Bond.”

The Zurich-based lender dispatched bankers across the border to seek out new clients even though they lacked the paperwork - a banking license or European passport – to offer such services in France, the lead investigator wrote in the indictment ahead of the trial which starts on Monday afternoon.

When they came over from Switzerland to France, UBS bankers allegedly took several steps, described in the prosecution’s opinion on the case as akin to 007 techniques and listed in a “security risk governance” manual, to avoid detection by authorities.

They used encrypted computers, had business cards without the lender’s logo and were told to switch hotels regularly, according to prosecutors.

UBS also allegedly helped clients to launder money they hadn’t declared to French authorities. The bank – which risks billions of euros in fines if found guilty – has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

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UBS’s French unit UBS France SA, as well as several top executives including Dieter Kiefer, the former head of UBS Group AG’s wealth management for western Europe, will also stand trial for their alleged roles in the case. The defence teams for UBS and its French unit are expected to raise procedural issues concerning the indictment at the onset of the trial.