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Should UBS Face US Trial Over Client Names: Troubles?
By Amarendra Bhushan for CEOWORLD Magazine Updated:February 24, 2009
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Handing over the account names would violate Switzerland’s banking secrecy legislation with further termination of the bank’s license to stay in the business. Such violations would expose these [UBS] employees to substantial prison terms, as well as fines, penalties and other sanctions.
It looks like UBS wants to do business in both countries, but pick and choose which laws to follow. This is the sort of dilemma companies’ face when they have unethical practices like helping customers evade taxes.
The US is right to demand all banks doing business onshore with US citizens should comply with US laws, or face the consequences of fines or having their banking licenses taken away. A multinational corporation knows or should know of any conflicts between the relevant laws of the countries in which they do business.
UBS might challenge the efforts of U.S. authorities to force it to reveal the names of 52,000 clients, an estimated $14.8 billion in assets in a civil ministerial, the New York Times reported. The bank agreed to disclose the names of about 300 U.S. clients rather than face criminal charges, but a judge gave the bank until April 30 to argue against releasing additional names and seek the legal equivalent of a civil trial, according to the newspaper.
- UBS is the world’s largest banker to the rich.
- Agreed last week to pay a $780 million fine.
- Agreed last week to disclose the identity of about 300 of its U.S. clients.
- U.S. authorities are seeking access to the names of another 52,000 clients.
- Deadline, April 30
The fact that a Swiss bank is giving up account information to governments is alarming. While I believe that citizens should obey the law and pay their taxes, as odious as they are, I have no sympathy for governments that bully other countries and financial institutions into enforcing their tax codes overseas.
Perhaps we should not require UBS to turn over customer information, but at the same time advise UBS that no person, business or other entity can do business with UBS in the United States either directly or indirectly.
If the US Government does not have any name or knowledge of the amounts in those hidden secret account, I wonder where is this first 20.000 than 52,000 account numbers come from?
Are those just numbers pulled from the air?
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