Suit Against UBS Continues, Says Justice Department
The Justice Department on Tuesday denied a New York Times report that suggests the federal government may soon drop its efforts to compel the Swiss bank UBS to release the names of thousands of American investors amid an ongoing tax evasion investigation.
Citing an unidentified U.S. official, the Times said the decision to ditch the case against UBS could happen in mid-July. The DOJ is seeking the names of 52,000 wealthy American clients. The anonymous U.S. official told the Times: "To have a complete meltdown in Swiss-U.S. relations and go to the mat with Switzerland three years from now when money is getting back into the system doesn't make sense."
UBS and Swiss government officials are trying to persuade Justice to abandon its push to acquire the names, according to the Times. A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment for the Times piece.
On Tuesday, a Justice Department spokesman reacted to the article, saying there is "no basis" for the report.
"While the Department is always willing to consider settlement in any case, the suggestion that the Department is planning to drop this suit is simply untrue," DOJ spokesman Charles Miller said in a statement. "The Department is continuing with the case against UBS and will file its brief asking the court to enforce the summons on June 30."
The Justice Department case, filed in February, is pending in Miami in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida. The suit was filed a day after UBS agreed to pay $780 million in fines, penalties, interest and restitution in a deferred prosecution agreement in which the bank admitted it helped American investors evade taxes.
Last year, a UBS executive, Bradley Birkenfeld, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States. Birkenfield told prosecutors that UBS held upwards of $20 billion in asssets in undeclared accounts for U.S. clients. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 21.
Lawyers for UBS, who include Eugene Stearns and Ana Barnett of Miami's Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, were not immediately reached for comment Tuesday morning.
An evidentiary hearing in the dispute is scheduled for July 13 before Judge Alan Gold of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
This article first appeared on The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.
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