US Officials Demands Names of Bankers that Aided Tax Evasion
According to the NZZ am Sonntag, a Swiss newspaper, US officials have given several Swiss banks until January 23rd to surrender the names of client advisers who allegedly helped wealth Americans evade taxes. Citing sources close to the bank, the paper said that the US Justice Department is asking for documents relating to the banks’ business with American customers since 2000. A total of eleven financial institutions in Switzerland are under formal investigation by US tax authorities, including Credit Suisse, Wegelin and Julius Baer.
Swiss and US authorities are working on a deal in which the probe would be dropped and the banks would pay large fines and give up the names of tax evaders. Last week, three employees of Wegelin & Co. were charged by US officials for their role in helping Americans hide some $1.2 billion in assets. A spokesman for Switzerland’s version of the US Department of Justice noted that whether the data is eventually handed over will depend on if the request corresponds legal requirements.
