The Tax Fraud Blog – Qui Tam Attorneys

Last week, Swiss Parliament approved an agreement between Switzerland and American to disclose information on approximately 4,450 Swiss bank accounts that are held by American clients who are under investigation for tax fraud.

Swiss banking has always been known for secrecy, but recent court orders to disclose client information in criminal investigations could not be ignored. In fact, directors of UBS, the bank in question, could have faced indictment and legal action from American courts for failure to comply with court orders.

Just two years ago, the Switzerland-based investment bank, UBS, came under the scrutiny of the U.S. DOJ for assisting Americans with tax evasion schemes and was fined $790 million for facilitating fraud.

UBS is currently in the process of transferring the court-ordered information on clients. In the wake of recent financial crisis, many governments, including the U.S. Government, have increased efforts to penalize tax evaders.