The company was also working with investigators amid an ongoing investigation, and agreed to take "remedial" measures to ensure future compliance with U.S. tax law, prosecutors said.

"As they admit, Swiss Life and its subsidiaries sought out and offered their services to U.S. taxpayers to help them become U.S. tax evaders," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a statement. "The Swiss Life Entities offered private placement life insurance policies and related policy investment accounts to U.S. customers, and provided services that concealed the policies and other assets from the IRS."

Swiss Life, through Group General Counsel Hans-Peter Conrad, pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy charge at a court hearing Friday morning and waived its right to be charged by indictment. Instead, the company said it had struck a deal with prosecutors, which allowed Swiss Life to seek dismissal of the charge after three years, if it complied fully with the terms of the agreement.

Swiss Life said in a statement that it had set aside funds in 2020 to cover the payment and was "now focused on fulfilling the requirements under the resolution and successfully concluding" the deferred prosecution agreement.

Prosecutors alleged in court filings that the company saw a "business opportunity" when Swiss banks began terminating relationships with U.S. clients in response to increased scrutiny of offshore tax accounts in 2008.

Swiss Life, prosecutors said, attracted clients with private placement life insurance, or "wrapper" policies, which can be used to hold stocks, private equity holdings and other assets. Swiss Life, and not the U.S. policyholders, was identified as the owner of more than 1,600 accounts, allowing the clients to avoid taxes and hide undeclared assets from authorities, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

By entering the deferred prosecution agreement, Swiss Life had admitted to its wrongdoing, the office said.

"Swiss Life today is held criminally responsible for creating and marketing specially designed insurance products to U.S. tax evaders seeking a new way to hide their offshore assets, in light of heightened Justice Department and IRS tax enforcement efforts," acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg said in a statement. "Financial enablers here and abroad— and the taxpayers seeking their services—should know that we will continue to identify and unmask such schemes."