In order to avoid a fate similar to UBS, Bank Leumi recently admitted to engaging in some tax “hanky panky.” One of the largest banks in Israel, Leumi admitted that it helped U.S. taxpayers evade their taxes. How so? By helping these individuals to hide their income and assets in offshore accounts in Israel and in other parts of the world.

This did not come without a price – a steep one. To account for its criminal conduct, Bank Leumi Group will pay the IRS a whopping $270 million in fines and an additional $ 130 million to New York’s Department of Financial Services. The terms of the deal are strikingly similar to the one that UBS entered into a while ago with the United States – an admission of wrongdoing in exchange for immunity from prosecution. This is what is referred to colloquially as a “deferred prosecution agreement.” Read More