03 August 2009 News

 

SonntagsZeitung: UBS to hand over data for 5000 clients

According to reports UBS is to hand over details of 5000 US clients to US authorities as part of a deal following a dispute over Swiss banking secrecy and tax evasion. American authorities had asked the bank to pass on the names of 52,000 American clients whom the authorities suspected of using traditional Swiss banking secrecy to avoid payment of tax.

Newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported on Sunday that the data of 5000 clients will be released but did not give details of what the data would be,how this data was selected or whether the clients have been informed.

The agreement is likely to prevent the bank being fined, a concern for many in the markets, however the deal has not yet been finalised.