United States authorities are moving against Swiss banks that have helped Americans evade taxes. The crackdown began in 2007, when authorities investigated Switzerland’s largest Bank, UBS AG. In 2009, UBS paid a settlement of $780 million for criminal charges that it helped thousands of wealthy American hide over $20 billion.
Dozens of U.S. tax evaders and more than 20 Swiss bankers have been charged with aiding and abetting tax evasion. This attack on banking privacy practices has caused stress on United States Swiss relations.
The US justice Department is currently investigating 11 Swiss and Swiss type banks suspected of providing offshore tax-evasion services to many thousands of American citizens. One of these banks, Wegelin & Co, has recently had three of its employees indicted by United States prosecutors for selling tax evasion services. The US Justice Department has already decided to press charges against three Wegelin & Co. employees. Konrad Hummler, a managing partner at Wegelin, has publicly decried this US crackdown on private Swiss banking.
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