Fraud Case Breaches Venerable Swiss Secrecy

(NEWSER) - The IRS and Justice Department crackdown on UBS is widening, reports the Wall Street Journal, as new documents reveal the efforts the bank took to keep its clients' wealth away from the taxman. Two recent cases have relied on channeling millions to a Swiss account owned by a Hong Kong-based enterprise. In one instance, a UBS banker told an American tax dodger that "a lot of United States clients don't report their income." More»

Swiss banking secrecy collapses as investors face tax evasion charges

(NEWSER) - Under pressure from the IRS, Swiss banking giant UBS is closing the offshore accounts of about 19,000 Americans suspected of evading taxes. UBS will transfer the clients' assets to other banks, other divisions of UBS, or the account holders themselves—creating a paper trail that the feds can examine. The move marks a sea change for Swiss banking secrecy, reports the New York Times. More»

Raoul Weil has headed wealth management division since 2002

(NEWSER) - The US Department of Justice indicted UBS’ head of global wealth management for enabling the Swiss bank’s American clients to avoid taxes, the Financial Times reports. Although authorities are only specifically pursuing Raoul Weil at this time, they hold that several senior UBS executives are “unindicted co-conspirators.” More»

(NEWSER) - UBS will hand over the names of 4,450 of its American account holders as part of a tax evasion settlement, the Wall Street Journal reports, and another 5,000 names will be produced under a special IRS amnesty program. UBS won’t pay a monetary fine. Those being turned over may have a chance to fight the disclosure in Swiss court. The compromise gets around potential Swiss objections to the disclosures. More»

(NEWSER) - Swiss bank UBS AG has agreed to a settlement with the US to resolve a lengthy tax evasion probe, the Wall Street Journal reports. The details are currently under wraps, as the final documents await signatures. UBS will likely hand the IRS the names of 8,000 to 10,000 clients, analysts predict. The Swiss government had fought hard against the suit, on the basis of Swiss bank privacy. More»