Leumi May Reach Agreement With U.S. Over Tax Evasion by January
Bank Leumi Le-Israel Ltd. (LUMI) expects to reach an accord with the U.S. government by next month over accusations Israel’s second-largest bank helped Americans evade taxes.
“The management believes it is right to reach an agreement with authorities, just as global banks have done,” Leumi’s legal adviser Hanan Friedman said today at a parliamentary economics committee, according to an e-mailed statement by the panel.
The agreement will include a fine of 1.4 billion shekels ($356 million) and should be concluded by the end of the year or first half of January, he said.
The probe by the U.S. Justice Department is part of a seven-year crackdown on offshore tax evasion. About 100 Swiss banks are seeking to avoid prosecution by disclosing how they helped Americans dodge taxes.
Bank Leumi said Nov. 24 in its earnings statement that it set aside an additional 476 million shekels in the third quarter for a total of about 1.5 billion shekels for a settlement with the U.S.
Last month, a person with knowledge of the matter said Leumi is close to a $400 million settlement of federal and state investigations. Under the proposed accord, Bank Leumi would pay about $270 million to the Justice Department and $130 million to New York’s Department of Financial Services, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the talks aren’t public.
Leumi shares closed 0.3 percent higher at 13.45 shekels in Tel Aviv.
