US customer in Swiss court to protect UBS account details
A US customer of UBS plans to ask a Swiss court to stop UBS handing over his account details to US authorities
An American customer of UBS AG plans to
request a Swiss court to stop UBS handing over his account details to US
authorities investigating alleged tax evasion.
His lawyer Thomas Fingerhuth said yesterday the Swiss federal tax office had
given his client 30 days to challenge its decision that he had to surrender his
entire file to the US investigators, who are trying to determine whether UBS
helped wealthy Americans evade their tax obligations.
‘It’s my contention that the documents were compiled illegally, and therefore
cannot be surrendered or used in America, where the rules on permissible
evidence are much stricter than in Switzerland anyway,’ Fingerhuth told
The
Associated Press.
He said several other UBS clients were preparing similar cases, but this was
the first. ‘In my client’s case, it’s not about a crazy amount of money,’
Fingerhuth said. ‘But I have a feeling that they want to push through one case
to see how it goes, and then follow through with the others.’
Further reading:
UBS director charged with tax evasion
UBS looks to settle private banking tax issues