2/3/2012 Wegelin (Norwegian) Swiss Bank Is Indicted in Tax Case in New York

The Hunt for Nazi Treasure | Swiss Bank Is Indicted in Tax Case By BLOOMBERG NEWS Published: February 2, 2012 Wegelin & Company, the 270-year-old Swiss private bank, was indicted in New York on Thursday on federal charges that it had helped Americans evade taxes. The indictment follows charges filed Jan. 3 against three Wegelin bankers accused of conspiring to help American clients hide more than $1.2 billion in assets from tax authorities. Wegelin announced on Jan. 27 that it had agreed to a sale to Switzerland's Raiffeisen Group. Wegelin was indicted in federal court with three bankers at its Zurich branch, Michael Berlinka, Urs Frei and Roger Keller. Prosecutors said that from 2002 to 2011, more than 100 American taxpayers conspired with the defendants and others to hide accounts from the Internal Revenue Service. The bank held more than $1.2 billion in undeclared assets this year, according to the indictment. Prosecutors said Wegelin and the three bankers had wooed American clients fleeing UBS, the largest Swiss bank. A version of this article appeared in print on February 3, 2012, on page B4 of the New York edition with the headline: Swiss Bank Is Indicted in Tax Case. www.nytimes.com LAW - FEBRUARY 3, 2012 Swiss Bank Wegelin Indicted on US Tax Charges US prosecutors filed criminal charges against Switzerland's oldest bank, alleging it helped wealthy Americans hide more than $1.2 billion in secret accounts abroad, the latest move in an ongoing crackdown on overseas ...

View Count: 4 Date: February 6, 2012