The latest news in the global offshore account investigation doesn’t look too good for UBS.
At least three years ago, some of the Swiss bank’s senior executives knew about possible violations of U.S. securities laws in connection with American clients of its private bank, according to a story in today’s New York Times.
Top UBS execs (and some of their lawyers) reportedly received letters alerting them to potential
problems by June 2005, almost three years before the Justice
Department formally announced its investigation of the bank.
UBS, the world’s largest private bank, is accused of helping some American
clients put $20 billion in secret offshore accounts, allowing them to evade $300
million or more in taxes.
The UBS situation is just part of a larger look by law enforcement officials worldwide, along with U.S. legislators, into illegal tax shelters. My post on a Senate hearing into the matter last month details Congressional interest in the global tax evasion investigation, as well as has links to my previous bloggings on the topic.
