First US tax dodger in UBS case sentenced
A court in Miami has sentenced a wealthy United States citizen involved in the UBS tax investigation to one year of house arrest for filing a false tax return.
The 55-year-old accountant is the first American charged in the UBS case. The man pleaded guilty in June. Prosecutors say he hid $6 million (SFr6.13 million) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Prosecutors said the defendant, who cannot be named under Swiss law, has cooperated fully and that his case has sent a message worldwide about the risks of offshore tax evasion.
Several other UBS clients also face charges. Under US pressure, the Swiss bank this year agreed to disclose the names of 4,450 additional suspected American tax dodgers.
The protracted legal battle between the US authorities and the bank ended in August with an agreement to open Switzerland’s long tradition of banking secrecy.
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