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I'm not sure it's a "win". The reality is that this will quickly drive business away from one of Switzerland's largest banks. As a result, the Swiss will start

I'm not sure it's a "win". The reality is that this will quickly drive business away from one of Switzerland's largest banks. As a result, the Swiss will start going back to their old policies and their cooperation in recent years will cease. It is for this reason that they have only brought civil charges in the past. Eric Holder appears to be out of his depth on this one. All this did was reopen one of the world's largest tax havens.

us0r 12y ago
From a few years ago but I found this quite interesting. This guy earned $2.5 million per month in prison. He probably had no idea: "Sentenced to a 40-month federal prison term in 2009 for his role in a tax evasion conspiracy involving offshore American accounts, former Swiss banker Bradley Birkenfeld elicited sympathetic comments from some observers who said the hefty sentence was likely to discourage other whistleblowers from cooperating with the government." "But the former UBS AG employee's situation has recently taken a significant turn for the better. Now 47 and out of prison, he is to receive a $104 million Internal Revenue Service whistleblower award for his work in helping the feds pursue over $5 billion in unpaid taxes on unreported assets at Zurich-based UBS and other offshore banks" http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-banker_birkenfeld_gets_104m_for_ubs_case_cooperation_may_be_biggest_us_w/ http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-banker_birkenfeld_...
- downandout 12y ago
  Criminal charges against individuals (though rare) have long been part of the mix, but charging the actual bank entity can have a devastating impact on the company and all of its employees. A felony conviction against an organization disqualifies it from many core business activities, and many large corporations have bylaws prohibiting them transacting with such entities. Insurance companies won't underwrite them on certain things or charge higher rates etc. A perfect example of this is Arthur Anderson.

us0r 12y ago

From a few years ago but I found this quite interesting. This guy earned $2.5 million per month in prison. He probably had no idea: "Sentenced to a 40-month federal prison term in 2009 for his role in a tax evasion conspiracy involving offshore American accounts, former Swiss banker Bradley Birkenfeld elicited sympathetic comments from some observers who said the hefty sentence was likely to discourage other whistleblowers from cooperating with the government." "But the former UBS AG employee's situation has recently taken a significant turn for the better. Now 47 and out of prison, he is to receive a $104 million Internal Revenue Service whistleblower award for his work in helping the feds pursue over $5 billion in unpaid taxes on unreported assets at Zurich-based UBS and other offshore banks" http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-banker_birkenfeld_gets_104m_for_ubs_case_cooperation_may_be_biggest_us_w/ http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-banker_birkenfeld_...

downandout 12y ago
Criminal charges against individuals (though rare) have long been part of the mix, but charging the actual bank entity can have a devastating impact on the company and all of its employees. A felony conviction against an organization disqualifies it from many core business activities, and many large corporations have bylaws prohibiting them transacting with such entities. Insurance companies won't underwrite them on certain things or charge higher rates etc. A perfect example of this is Arthur Anderson.