Zurich Life and Zurich International Life to pay a penalty in the United States for tax evasion

The insurer Zurich will have to pay a penalty of 5.1 million USD imposed by the US Department of Justice (DoJ). Its two local entities, Zurich Life and Zurich International Life, are accused of having marketed life insurance products that have allowed American policyholders to evade taxes.

The fraud relates to the 420 life insurance contracts, underwritten between 2008 and 2014, for a total amount of 102 million USD.

It is the Zurich Group itself that informed the American courts of the illegal practices of its policyholders. However, the authorities consider that Zurich is partly responsible for the fraud. The Group's subsidiaries should have exercised better compliance control by ensuring that their products comply with the American tax legislation.

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