The Swiss bank, which is in a legal battle with the US over its unwillingness to divulge names of American clients it helped avoid paying tax, has issued a global travel ban for all client-facing staff in its Wealth Management & Swiss Bank and its Wealth Management US divisions. The move comes a week after the G20 agreed to take a tough line on tax evasion, with world leaders pledging to stop wealthy individuals from using offshore tax havens to escape levies. The temporary restriction affects bankers travelling to and from the US, and even within Europe, as UBS reviews what a spokesman called "its policy and compliance framework" for its international wealth management offering. Two months ago UBS agreed to pay $780m (£527m) to US authorities to settle a long-running criminal case into tax avoidance. UBS admitted helping up to 17,000 clients evade taxes by placing money in offshore accounts between 2000 and 2007. The US Internal Revenue Service's case was bolstered by the arrest and subsequent guilty plea from former UBS banker Bradley Birkenfeld, who admitted helping American billionaire Igor Olenicoff evade millions of dollars in taxes. A spokesman said UBS was conducting the travel review "given the international scope and the complex regulatory environment of UBS's international wealth management business".UBS halts foreign travel over tax worries
UBS has banned more than 1,000 of its private bankers from travelling overseas over fears they could be targeted by foreign governments investigating tax evasion.
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
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