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USA to UBS: Hand Over Tax Evaders, Or Else! Swiss Bank's American Assets at Risk

Posted Jul 10, 2009 07:00am EDT by Aaron Task
Related: UBS, CS, HBC, XLF, FXF, SWZ, ^DJI

As the war over alleged U.S. tax evaders and Swiss banking secrecy laws heats up, UBS is at risk of losing both its banking license and U.S. assets, says Ken Rubinstein, senior partner at Rubinstein & Rubinstein, and a specialist in areas of estate and tax planning.

This week, the Swiss government said it would seize UBS data in order to prevent the Justice Department from obtaining the identities of 52,000 American account holders.

But Rubinstein doesn't believe that will shield UBS, since the bank earlier this year admitted it send private bankers to the U.S. with the express intent of helping wealthy Americans avoid U.S. taxes. In February, UBS paid a $780 million fine and gave U.S. officials the names and data of 250 individuals.

Reuters reports investors are betting on a "swift out-of-court" settlement -- perhaps ahead of a related civil trial scheduled to start Monday in Miami. But Rubinstein does not believe the U.S. government will settle for a mere fine this time, and will demand a "large disclosure of accounts."

If UBS refuses to comply, the ramifications could be dire for the bank (and its investors) the attorney says, adding the UBS case is part of a broader push by the IRS to uncover secret accounts by American citizens in banks around the world.

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