YEREVAN, January 8. /ARKA/. Wegelin & Co., the oldest Swiss private bank, said on Thursday it would shut its doors permanently after pleading to a criminal conspiracy charge in the U.S. and admitting that it had helped wealthy Americans for years avoid tens of millions of dollars in taxes, BBC reports.

In the latest blow to Switzerland's centuries-old banking secrecy laws, Wegelin became the latest bank on Thursday to reach a deal with U.S. prosecutors as they continue a crackdown on offshore banks suspected of helping American evade taxes.

As part of the deal, Switzerland's oldest private bank will pay as much as $74 million in penalties to US authorities and has said it "will cease to operate as a bank" once the case wraps up.—0-