UBS Group’s French unit was charged with possible harassment of one of the whistle-blowers behind a tax probe that forced the bank to post a $1.2 billion bond to cover any potential penalties. The whistleblower, Nicolas Forissier, is a former audit manager who helped trigger the probes nearly a decade ago.

The Swiss bank is accused of laundering tax-fraud proceeds and conspiring to illicitly solicit clients on French territory. French authorities also recommended that several people, including Raoul Weil - who once ran UBS’s global wealth-management business out of Switzerland - answer charges in court.

In a parallel investigation to the tax probe, French prosecutors recommended last year that UBS and its French unit face a criminal trial over allegations it helped clients evade taxes. Investigative judges, which have the final say in the matter, still haven’t made a decision.

‘UBS France’ supposedly forced Forissier to work under difficult conditions, which included internal criticism and eventual dismissal for gross misconduct in 2009. The move comes nearly one year after UBS France was charged with witness tampering by pressuring Forissier before he was scheduled to testify in an employment tribunal lawsuit involving another staff member.