Both the DOJ and the Swiss Federal Department of Finance have also issued a joint statement, indicating that Switzerland will support its banks to participate in the program.
Attorney General Eric Holder said, "This program will significantly enhance the Justice Department’s ongoing efforts to aggressively pursue those who attempt to evade the law by hiding their assets outside of the United States."
Deputy Attorney General James Cole commented, "This program will provide us with additional information to prosecute those who used secret offshore bank accounts and those here and abroad who established and facilitated the use of such accounts."
As part of the program, participating Swiss banks will be required to agree to pay substantial fines and make a full revelation of their cross-border activities.
Additionally, the banks will have to give thorough information on an account-by-account basis for accounts in which US taxpayers have a direct or indirect interest, assist in treaty requests for account information.
Under the new program, the lenders will have to cater complete information as to other banks that transferred funds into secret accounts or that accepted funds when secret accounts were closed, while ready to seal accounts, which failed to comply with the US reporting obligations.
For a non-prosecution agreement, the banks must agree to a fine 20% of the maximum aggregate dollar value of all non-disclosed US accounts that were held by the bank on 1 August 2008.
The fine will shoot up to 30% for secret accounts that were opened after 1 August 2008, but before the end of February 2009 and to 50% for secret accounts opened later than that.
The DOJ has sued over 30 banking professionals and 68 US accountholders with violations arising from their offshore banking activities, since 2009.
