By James O'Toole @CNNMoney January 3, 2012: 6:36 PM ET
Three Zurich-based bankers face conspiracy charges in the U.S.
Swiss bankers charged in $1.2 billion tax fraud
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Three Swiss bankers have been charged with helping American taxpayers hide more than $1.2 billion from the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan announced Tuesday.
Michael Berlinka, Urs Frei and Roger Keller face up to five years in prison for their roles in the scheme, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. They are accused of helping more than 100 clients hide assets between 2005 and 2010.
The indictment identifies the defendants' place of employment only as the Zurich branch of "Swiss Bank A," though accounts in the names of Berlinka and Keller appear on the professional networking site Xing.com with Wegelin & Co., a bank in Switzerland, listed as their employer.
Wegelin did not respond to a request for comment late Tuesday.
The three accused currently reside in Switzerland, according to the indictment, and it wasn't clear Tuesday if or when they might face extradition. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment on the matter, and the Swiss Embassy in Washington did not return a request for comment.
In 2009, the U.S. government settled a tax fraud case involving American customers with Swiss banking giant UBS that proved diplomatically challenging due to Switzerland's strict bank secrecy laws. UBS ultimately paid $780 million in fines and restitution and agreed to hand over the identities of a number of its U.S. customers.
Tuesday's indictment alleges that as UBS and another unidentified Swiss bank stopped handling undeclared U.S. accounts in 2008 and 2009 amid scrutiny from American authorities, the defendants' firm attempted to scoop up their business.
"As part of their sales pitch to U.S. taxpayer-clients who were fleeing UBS, [the defendants] told U.S. taxpayer-clients that their undeclared accounts at Swiss Bank A would not be disclosed to the United States authorities because Swiss Bank A had a long tradition of bank secrecy," the indictment states.
The case has been assigned to Judge Jed Rakoff, who has made headlines for his hard-charging approach to financial crime in cases against firms like Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and Citigroup (C, Fortune 500). 
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Today is
Good Job Feds, The Rich Had Their
Clemency & Declined
The Fact that the U.S. Government, 3 years ago, gave the Swiss Banks and the Rich, who were, illegally, hiding income, in order to avoid paying U.S. Taxes of Millions, perhaps Billions, of Rich people's money stashed in Swiss Banks to avoid paying taxes..., wasn't satisfied with the feds offer of clemency, allowing all these rich people to resubmit taxes forms to add cash that they illegally hid in Swiss Banks.
These Rich people opted to simply jumped on the next boat that was sailing in the direction of their illegal desires. Now that charges are being levied against 3 specific workers of the un-identified banks, the Rich in the U.S. will now be held accountable for their desire to avoid paying fair taxes.
Wesley Snipes and Gerald Isley of the Isley Brothers..., are two famous people who have spent time in jail for tax evasion, or in the case of Snipes, he is currently in jail, serving time.
What's going to be interesting in this case, one of the real tough judges associated with past financial crimes, is being assigned to this case, and I truly am going to be paying close attention to this case, as the facts unfold.
I guess the tax breaks that the rich were awarded by the bush admin, more that 11 years ago, wasn't enough for the rich.
An additional thought; for the Swiss to provide shelter for illegal tax evaders from around the world, says a lot about the Swiss's Character.
I wonder how the Swiss government would feel if the U.S. refuse to cooperate with Swiss Laws associated with fraud of any kind, in the country of Swiss?
The Swiss are known for their refusal to participate in war of any kind, and it's that specific conviction that they feel so proud of. However, having great character isn't just having convictions, great character means that one respects the laws of all counties.
I would understand if this were a murder situation and the Swiss convictions of not participating in executions by extraditing a murder suspect to any country that has the death penalty, but, this case is simple tax evasion, and such a case ought to cause all countries to respect other countries laws, and extradite the individual who think that they have found a safe haven for fraud crimes.
By the Way, what happens to the money when the government fine these banks and individuals of fraud, and collect?
In My Opinion
ASMFMB
1/04/12
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