We have been informed by the Swiss Bank “UBS” that there has been an internal review of bank accounts which are ultimately owned by Ukrainian Tax Residents. These guidelines apply to both existing and new clients of the bank, and are as follows:
Natural Person Bank Accounts
- Clients will need to provide a self declaration certificate confirming that they are tax compliant in Ukraine.
- In cases where the bank account is anonymous (i.e. a numbered account), or if UBS has any reason to suspect that the client is not fulfilling his or her tax duty, then confirmation by a pre-approved tax advisor (see list below) that the client is tax compliant will be required.
Non Personal Bank Accounts (SPVs, Trusts etc.)
- Clients will need confirmation by a pre-approved tax advisor (see list below) that they are tax compliant.
Next Steps
This information will be communicated to clients of UBS during the months of June and July. Clients will be given until the end of the year to provide the requested documents. If they fail to do so, the bank will exit the relationship.
Wider Implications
As the largest bank in Switzerland, UBS is often the first to make such decisions and in our experience, it does not take long for other banks to follow suit. We also believe that other banking jurisdictions will soon take the same approach.
If you wish to talk about this in more detail, please feel free to contact us:
Robert Edwards
Managing Partner
robert.edwards@edwardswm.ch
+41 78 669 66 76
Maria Alexandrova
Junior Partner
maria.alexandrova@edwardswm.ch
+41 76 307 15 29
Pre-Approved List
Law Firms
Auquo
Asters
Avellum
Baker & Mckenzie
CMS Cameron Mckenna
DLA Piper
Sayenko Kharenko
Vasil Kisil & Partners
WTS Tax Legal Consulting/ KM Partners
Audit Firms
Baker Tilly
Deloitte
Ernst & Young
Grant Thornton
KPMG
Mazars
PricewaterhouseCoopers
