Federal Court to decide on UBS tax fraud case

Switzerland’s financial regulator is appealing a ruling by the Federal Administrative Court on the handing over of details of 285 bank accounts to the United States last year.

The Administrative Court said earlier this month that the regulator, the Swiss Financial and Market Supervisory Authority (Finma), had acted illegally when it transferred the data of wealthy UBS account holders.

The Federal Court will now have the final say.

The government has been facing the threat of a formal parliamentary investigation into the affair. It has been accused of shirking its responsibility in delegating to Finma the decision of handing over the confidential data to the US, which was investigating cases of tax fraud.

Economics Minister Doris Leuthard, who also holds the rotating presidency this year, defended the move, saying the government let Finma take the lead in the case in the interest of a major bank and of the Swiss economy.

As a result of the ruling that Finma’s actions were illegal, the cabinet has said it will provide access to government documents relating to the affair to the heads of two parliamentary committees.

swissinfo.ch and agencies