American admits failure to disclose offshore bank account

News - Tax

Tuesday, 29 September 2009 13:24

An American businessman has pleaded guilty to neglecting to inform the U.S. tax authorities about a $6.1 million account held with Swiss banking giant UBS. He is now said to be cooperating with prosecutors.

The businessman had failed to disclose the account on tax returns he had made from 2001 to 2007. He is the fourth UBS client to plead guilty this year in a U.S. court.

UBS had agreed in February to pay $780 million to avoid prosecution in the US courts for helping Americans evade tax. The bank also provided secret data on 250 U.S. clients to the American tax authorities. Last month, it agreed to reveal information regarding a further 4,450 clients. The American Internal Revenue Service has given clients of foreign banks until October 15 to voluntarily disclose offshore assets or face prosecution.

“Those who are hiding income and assets in offshore accounts would be well advised to promptly come clean before the government learns about their accounts through other channels,” said John DiCicco, acting assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s tax division. “Those who think they can ‘stay below the radar’ face a real risk of prosecution.”