UBS Gave Feds Information About Customers' Bank Accounts in US
As part of a federal probe of whether Americans dodged taxes by secreting assets in Swiss bank accounts, UBS has provided data about bank accounts in the United States.
“U.S. authorities have requested data from UBS on U.S. onshore clients,” a spokesman for the Switzerland-based bank tells Reuters. “UBS must comply with that request for information located in the United States.”
However, the bank hasn’t provided data about secret bank accounts in Switzerland that the U.S. Department of Justice also is seeking, according to the news agency. Reuters reports that UBS and the Swiss Finance Ministry, which would have to approve any such data transfer, are still assessing the DOJ’s effort to obtain this “offshore” banking information.
“Prosecutors suspect that UBS, which is based in Zurich and has extensive operations in the United States, illegally helped American clients hide $20 billion in secret offshore accounts, thereby evading $300 million a year in taxes from 2000 to 2007,” reports the New York Times in an article today.
The Times article says the DOJ and Internal Revenue Service are focusing their investigation on “senior and midlevel executives and bankers.”
Earlier ABAJournal.com coverage:
New IRS Rules Target Secret Offshore Bank Accounts
IRS Isn’t Just Pursuing UBS Clients; Auditors to Look at Other Foreign Banks
