The associated press has reported that Switzerland and the United States are talking about a joint settlement with other Swiss and European banks to avoid potential U.S. investigation and prosecution.

He is charged with failing to  file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts form and for not disclosing an account at HSBC Bank Bermuda, according to a criminal charge filed today in federal court in Boston.

Credit Suisse has long assured their clients that they will not suffer the same fate as its rival Swiss counterpart, UBS, but it seems those assurances are not so sure.  On July 14, 2011, Credit Suisse received a formal letter from the U.S. Department of Justice, stating that the U.S. agency has opened an investigation against the bank for improper offshore banking practices.

U.S. citizen and New York resident, Josephine Bhasin, pled guilty to charges of willingly filing false tax returns, false amended tax returns, and false FBARs in relation to an undisclosed offshore account she held with HSBC. Ms. Bhasin will receive a maximum sentence of 3 years in jail and a maximum fine of $250,000. These criminal penalties are in addition to civil penalties, which Ms. Bhasin has agreed to; the arrangement includes a civil penalty of 50% of the high year on the account during 2004 to 2009.

IRS launched a second amnesty initiative for U.S. taxpayers on Feb. 8, 2011 for undisclosed offshore accounts. The 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI) is based on the previous disclosure program that ran through October of 2009.