Top UBS Private Banker Held In US Tax Probe

by Leroy Baker, Tax-News.com, New York

08 May 2008

A senior banker employed by Swiss bank UBS has reportedly been detained by the authorities in the United States in connection with an investigation into whether the bank helped its clients evade tax there.

The UK's Financial Times reported that Martin Liechti, the head of UBS's wealth management business for the Americas, was detained as a material witness while visiting Miami last month, as part of a probe by the US Justice Department into investment advice given to US private banking clients by UBS between 2000 and 2007.

While UBS refused to confirm whether the detained employee in question was Liechti, it told the FT in a statement that "a senior UBS employee was briefly detained" by US authorities, although the person was not charged.

UBS added that the employee would remain in the US until "pending discussions with the US authorities regarding resolution of his status as a witness".

The bank is also understood to be the subject of an investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly allowing Swiss-based employees to provide investment advice to US-based clients, without having registered with the SEC as a broker dealer or investment advisor.

UBS effectively shut its wealth management operation in the US in November 2007, but it has denied that this was in response to regulatory pressure from the local authorities.

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