US clients of UBS with more than 250,000 Swiss francs (165,641 euros, 248,040 dollars) in assets could have their details turned over to US tax authorities if there is proof of fraud, Swiss authorities said on Tuesday.
For those who have simply not disclosed their accounts, their records would only be provided to US tax authorities if the account held more than one million francs at any time between 2001 and 2008, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice said here.US clients of UBS with more than 250,000 Swiss francs (165,641 euros, 248,040 dollars)... more
The United States has reached an outline settlement with Switzerland's most powerful bank, UBS, on their long running $20bn (£12bn) tax evasion dispute that has severely damaged relations between the two countries.
It is thought that UBS will be ordered to hand over to US investigators about 5,000 American accounts suspected of tax evasion. Originally the US demanded 52,000 accounts from UBS in a move that forced the Swiss government to intervene.
If Switzerland does hand over accounts, it will in effect end any pretence of Swiss bank secrecy and may prompt an increase in cash withdrawals as the super-rich rush to protect their identities.
The case dates back two years when US tax investigators arrested Florida real estate tycoon Igor Olenicoff for tax evasion. Olenicoff accepted an offer of a reduced sentence in return for information about who organised the tax fraud.
His evidence established that UBS personnel devised sham companies to hide wealth and even smuggled diamonds in toothpaste tubes through customs.
In February, UBS paid $780m to settle criminal charges that it helped wealthy Americans evade taxes on nearly $20bn in offshore accounts. One day later, it filed the civil suit seeking to force UBS to disclose 52,000 client names.
There is no guarantee that an outline agreement will lead to a settlement, however. On Friday US secretary of state Hillary Clinton will meet Swiss foreign minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey.
Andreas Missbach of the Berne Declaration, a Swiss economic justice campaigner, said the increasing involvement of the Swiss foreign ministry in the dispute was a sign that the country's more confrontational ministry of finance had failed to head off the row.
Switzerland has also attracted co-ordinated international action for its role as a tax haven and has pointedly not been invited to participate in G20 meetings to restore the world's economy. UBS, is not commenting on the case.The United States has reached an outline settlement with Switzerland's most... more
Was it a crime of passion or greed? A Swiss court probes the murder that shocked Europe—a prominent French banker shot by his lover while wearing a latex body suit
His death, like their relationship, was alternately tragic and perverse, titillating and humiliating. Police found the banker’s corpse tied up, in a pool of blood, dressed in S & M-friendly pink latex, from his feet to the balaclava that covered his head. He had been shot four times, twice in the head, and once at point-blank range.Was it a crime of passion or greed? A Swiss court probes the murder that shocked... more
ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi is assessing its $7.5 billion investment in Citigroup as the bank's problems deepen and consequences of a possible nationalization become clearer, according to sources close to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).
ADIA invested $7.5 billon last year in Citi through convertible bonds that pay 11 percent in interest, but it must start converting the bonds into 235.6 million shares in Citigroup from March next year.
"Nothing has changed from ADIA's perspective at this point. ADIA's convertible bonds are due for conversion in a phased manner between March 2010 and September 2011, and that stands," an Abu Dhabi government official told Reuters.
"But it is carefully assessing its options due to the latest events -- although no decision is taken yet," he said, declining to be named.
A spokesman for ADIA, thought to be the world's largest sovereign fund, declined to comment.ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi is assessing its $7.5 billion investment in Citigroup... more
UBS was sued on Tuesday in a Swiss federal court by wealthy American clients seeking to prevent the disclosure of their identities as part of a tax-evasion investigation by the United States Justice Department.UBS was sued on Tuesday in a Swiss federal court by wealthy American clients seeking... more
