Report: UBS faces $6 billion fine in France

BERLIN (AP) — Shares in UBS AG are down after reports the Swiss bank could face a fine of 4.88 billion euros ($6.16 billion) if found guilty of facilitating tax evasion and money laundering in France.

Geneva daily Le Temps on Friday cited prosecution documents obtained by French investigative news site mediapart.fr that put the potential penalty for UBS significantly higher than a 1.1 billion euro bond it has had to deposit in the case.

The bank last month accused French authorities of staging "a highly politicized process" that had "not followed elementary facets of the rule of law."

The bank has denied allegations that it helped rich French clients dodge taxes. It didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

UBS shares were down 1.4 percent at 16.09 Swiss francs ($16.80).