Saturday April 25, 10:08 PM
Switzerland, US discuss UBS fraud case
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Switzerland said Saturday it hoped for an early resolution of US tax fraud charges against its biggest bank, UBS (Virt-X: UBSN.VX - news) , a case which has strained ties with the United States.
Swiss Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz met US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on the sidelines of International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Washington to discuss the issue, a Swiss government statement issued in Bern said.
Merz told Geithner he was counting on the issue being settled at the very latest by when the Swiss government submits legislation on a new double-tax exemption treaty with the United States to the Swiss parliament.
The statement said the two men agreed on the need to find a prompt solution.
UBS admitted guilt to US tax fraud in February and identified some 300 US clients who were suspected of tax fraud by the US authorities.
The bank was forced by the Swiss financial regulator to hand over details on the suspects -- bending its bank secrecy practices -- and UBS paid a fine of 780 million dollars as part of a provisional deal to settle the US charges.
US officials in a subsequent lawsuit against UBS requested details on 52,000 more UBS clients suspected of tax fraud but the bank has refused to hand over the information.
The Swiss statement said Merz told Geithner that Switzerland wanted to step up cooperation on cross-border tax issues and would accordingly adopt in full Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) standards on tax-haven practices.
Negotiations on the double-tax exemption treaty -- which regulates tax affairs between two countries -- will begin on Tuesday, the statement said.
Switzerland, along with several other countries, recently agreed to relax its traditional bank secrecy rules in response to intense international pressure that it provide more information on foreign nationals suspected of parking funds in the country to avoid tax in their home base.
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