The US Justice Department last night indicted a Swiss bank executive who once worked for UBS and a Zurich lawyer on charges they helped wealthy American clients evade US taxes.
The whereabouts of Swiss banker Hansruedi Schumacher and lawyer Matthias Rickenbach were not immediately known. But their indictments brought to 10 the number of people charged in the United States so far in a sweeping tax evasion probe, focused largely on UBS, that dates back to 2007.
Now that the Swiss banking giant has agreed to disclose the details of 4,450 accounts of Americans suspected of concealing assets from US authorities, the indictments are expected to mushroom. And they could extend high up into the ranks of the affluent.
Former UBS bank executive Bradley Birkenfeld and Mario Staggl, a banker who was not an employee of UBS, were indicted by federal prosecutors in Florida in April 2008 on charges they helped billionaire American property developer Igor Olenicoff evade taxes.
Mr Birkenfeld, an American, is due to be sentenced today and Mr Staggl, a citizen of Liechtenstein who has not appeared in court since his indictment, is a fugitive.
Reuters