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 |  Subject: Department of Injustice Asks For UBS Swiss Bank Account Records  Mon Jun 30, 2008 8:27 pm | |
| U.S. Seeks Names of UBS Clients in Tax Case
WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department sought a federal court order Monday to force UBS AG to turn over the names of wealthy U.S. clients that used the Swiss bank to hide assets.
The move comes as U.S. authorities pursue an investigation into alleged tax evasion by affluent Americans who relied on Swiss bank secrecy to keep some of their assets hidden from the Internal Revenue Service. U.S. authorities are in talks with UBS and Swiss banking authorities to obtain the names of the clients.
Monday's action increases pressure on the bank to cooperate with U.S. authorities.
"We are prepared to seek enforcement if that process is not successful," said John DiCicco, deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Tax Division.
The U.S. is seeking information on taxpayers who held so-called undeclared accounts with UBS between 2003 and 2007, according to court papers filed with the U.S. District Court in Miami. The undeclared accounts essentially are used to hold assets in tax havens and aren't recorded with the IRS.
The filing by the Justice Department is aided by information from a UBS banker, Bradley Birkenfeld, who pleaded guilty June 19 to helping his U.S. clients evade taxes. Mr. Birkenfeld told U.S. prosecutors that UBS holds an estimated $20 billion in assets for U.S. clients in undeclared accounts.
An order to turn over the names would be a blow to UBS. While it is one of the world's leading private banks, UBS's reputation has been hurt by both the case involving Mr. Birkenfeld and the fact that it has had to write down some $38 billion in mortgage-related investments (see related article).
UBS said, it "takes this matter very seriously and is working diligently with both Swiss and U.S. government authorities, consistent with Swiss law and the legal frameworks for intergovernmental cooperation and assistance."
LNK
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