Legal News

Ex-UBS Banker Indicted for Allegedly Helping Billionaire Evade Taxes

By Dan Slater

The Feds opened a window onto the world of private banking at UBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank, by unsealing an indictment against a former UBS banker for allegedly helping one of the world’s richest men evade taxes. In a one-count conspiracy indictment, Bradley Birkenfeld is accused of helping California real estate magnate Igor Olenicoff evade taxes on $200 million held in Swiss and Liechtenstein bank accounts. The indictment also reportedly names Mario Staggl, an executive at a trust company in Liechtenstein, as a co-conspirator. (Here are stories from the WSJ and NYT.)

Here’s what allegedly happened: Birkenfeld, a 43 year-old U.S. citizen, was the director of important clients for UBS in Geneva from 2002 to 2006, and is a partner and chairman at Union Charter, which caters to wealthy investors through offices in Geneva, Dubai and Hong Kong. Staggl, also 43, is a co-founder of the New Haven Trust Company in Liechtenstein, which specializes in tax planning. According to the indictment, the two men created fictitious trusts and corporations to conceal the ownership and control of offshore assets. They also advised clients to destroy bank records and helped them file false tax returns, the indictment reportedly said.

UBS declined to comment on the charges. Olenicoff’s lawyer, Edward Robbins Jr., confirmed to the WSJ that Olenicoff is the person described in the indictment as “I.O.” but otherwise declined to comment. Last year, Olenicoff pleaded guilty to tax evasion and to lying on his tax returns, and agreed to pay back taxes totaling $52 million.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on May 14, 2008 (boomark / email).