Tax Law
DOJ Seeks Rare Federal Court Ruling Forcing UBS to Name Names
Posted Jul 1, 2008, 11:35 am CST
By Martha Neil
Updated: The Department of Justice is trying to get an unprecedented federal court order requiring a Switzerland bank to turn over the names of wealthy U.S. residents who maintained secret accounts there to evade income tax here.
If the DOJ's filing against Swiss-based UBS AG in federal court in Miami succeeds, the bank will be between a rock and a hard place, reports the Wall Street Journal in a page one story today. If the bank complies with a U.S. court order requiring disclosure, it would presumably be violating a Swiss law that prohibits banks from disclosing client information without their approval.
The bank and Swiss and U.S. officials reportedly are working together to try to reach a resolution of the situation.
"The move could spark a major legal battle because the Justice Department is essentially gambling that courts will bless the move when it's directed at a company with extensive U.S. operations but that isn't based in the U.S. It has used such tactics in the U.S. previously against international credit-card firms," the newspaper recounts.
Up to 20,000 UBS customers could be affected, if disclosure is ordered, reports the London Times.
Additional coverage:
Bloomberg: "UBS Falls as U.S. Seeks Summons for Clients' Names"
ABAJournal.com: "Tough Calls for US Tax Dodgers & Counsel; Secret Bank Accounts Exposed"
ABAJournal.com: "Billionaire Olenicoff’s Plea Docs Describe Tax Evasion Techniques"
Updated at 5:15 p.m. to include London Times coverage.