NyTimes.com reports - A Former UBS banker was indicted on charges of helping an American real estate developer evade taxes.

The conspiracy indictment, accuses Bradley Birkenfeldthe , former banker, of helping the developer evade taxes on $200 million.  The funds were held in bank accounts in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

The developer was identified as Igor Olenicoff, a billionaire, and founder of Olen Properties.

The indictment is part of an American attempt to increase scrutiny of offshore tax transactions.  It is one part of a widening federal investigation into UBS, and its private bank based in Zurich, and whether it helped wealthy clients evade taxes.

According to the indictment, the two men created fictitious trusts and bogus offshore company structures to conceal the ownership and control of offshore assets.  In addition, the indictment accuses them of also advising clients to destroy bank records and helping them file false tax returns.

“The two men and others made several trips to the United States to pitch tax plans that were intended to conceal American bank clients’ ownership of accounts in a Swiss bank, the indictment said.”

The plans that were pitched to US clients let UBS avoid disclosure of certain income information to the Internal Revenue Service while also evading certain American tax requirements. The pitch hinged on the inpentrability of Swiss and Liechtenstein bank secrecy.

Mr. Olenicoff already pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion and to lying on his tax returns, and agreed to pay back taxes totaling $52 million. 

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 12:07 am and is filed under trusts, offshore company, tax evasion, Liechtenstein, banking privacy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.