The Swiss Bank Program - announced on August 29, 2013 - provides a path for Swiss banks to resolve potential criminal liabilities in the US. Last week, Switzerland-based Rothschild Bank and Banca Credinvest agreed to disclose secret accounts belonging to US taxpayers, joining a list of others that have recently reached such agreements to avoid prosecution for tax evasion.

According to the terms of the non-prosecution agreements, each bank has agreed to cooperate in any related criminal or civil proceedings, demonstrate its implementation of controls to stop misconduct involving undeclared US accounts and pay penalties in return for the department’s agreement not to prosecute these banks for tax-related criminal offenses.

“The banks are naming officers, employees and others who facilitated this conduct, and providing information that helps us track assets that accountholders moved to other banks and other countries,” said acting assistant attorney General Caroline Ciraolo of the DoJ's tax division.

Société Générale Private Banking will pay a $17.807 million penalty and Berner Kantonalbank will pay a $4.619 million penalty.