Hiding money in Swiss banks may not be what it’s cracked up to be, or for that matter, be worth the risk.
By David S. Hilzenrath
Washington Post Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government has chipped new holes in the secrecy of Swiss bank accounts, obtaining the names of American clients of the banking giant UBS as part of an investigation into the use of foreign banks to evade taxes.
In an unusual move, the Swiss have turned over information on about 70 UBS clients for use by Justice Department investigators, a source close to the case said.
The Swiss were responding to a Justice Department request for information on Americans who held “undeclared” accounts at UBS in Switzerland — accounts that they had not revealed to the Internal Revenue Service, the source said.
Meanwhile, criminal investigators have obtained the names of an additional 30 or so American holders of undeclared UBS accounts from other parties, and people with inside knowledge of the bank have been giving federal prosecutors information about UBS’s conduct, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.
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