Jury indicts UBS bank official in tax scheme

Posted on 11/14/2008

By Martha Brannigan

McClatchy Newspapers

MIAMI -- Raoul Weil, head of wealth management operations for Swiss banking giant UBS, has been indicted for conspiring to help thousands of U.S. clients dodge federal income taxes by hiding assets in secret offshore accounts.

The indictment, handed up by a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and unsealed Wednesday, alleges that between 2002 and 2007 Weil oversaw the Swiss bank's cross-border business, which helped about 20,000 U.S. clients conceal about $20 billion in assets in secret Swiss bank accounts. The business generated about $200 million in annual revenue for the bank.

Weil faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The indictment says bankers solicited new business from U.S. clients at Art Basel Miami Beach, a lavish event that UBS sponsors.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said, "Every American who pays his or her taxes should be offended that a select few use anonymous offshore accounts to avoid paying their fair share."

UBS officials weren't immediately available to comment.

Weil is the second UBS banker implicated in the scheme. In June, Bradley Birkenfeld, a former bank director, pleaded guilty to helping Lighthouse Point billionaire developer Igor Olenicoff dodge federal income taxes. Birkenfeld's sentencing hearing has been postponed several times while he continues to assist investigators in implicating other people in the scheme.

UBS has its North American headquarters in Stamford.

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