US continues battle for UBS customer names

The US Department of Justice continues its push for a court battle with UBS
to force the Swiss bank to reveal customers identities suspected of tax evasion.

A conference call was held between the two parties and judge Alan Gold on
whether or not the case should be taken to court or not, with the DoJ
representative saying that it is unclear whether an agreement will be reached.

The US government division wants the names of UBS’s wealthy American
customers which they believe are evading tax payments to the Internal Revenue
Service.

The DoJ took UBS to court earlier this year to force the bank to release the
names of customers but the Swiss bank has so far refused to give out the
information claiming it would violate strict banking secrecy laws in
Switzerland. UBS has said the two country’s governments need to resolve the
issue
The
Times reported.

Stuart Gibson, a lawyer representing the Department of Justice told judge
Gold, ‘The parties have been discussing a settlement but no agreement has been
reached and it’s unclear whether an agreement will be reached.’

The case was originally planned to take place in early July but was postponed
until August to allow US and Swiss government members to reach an agreement with
the hope that a resolution would avoid a legal battle between the DoJ and UBS.

Mr Gibson however is continuing to push for a court hearing on 3 August.

Switzerlands foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey is to meet with US
secretary of state Hillary Clinton this week which could pose an opportunity for
the two governements to reach a compromise before the bank is taken to court.

Further reading:

Switzerland urging closure on UBS case