This piece was reprinted by OpEd News with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
Senior bank officials went along for the profits. As for Birkenfeld, "I gave (the IRS) the biggest tax fraud case in the world. I exposed 19,000 international criminals (with accounts worth over $19 billion). And I'm going to jail for that?"
One of his clients was Igor Olenicoff, a billionaire on the Forbes 400 list with an estimated $1.7 billion net worth. He cooperated, paid $52 million in back taxes and fines, and got off with no jail.
On August 22, 2009, Wall Street Journal writer Brent Kendall headlined, "Ex-UBS Banker's Jail Time: 40 Months," saying:
"A key government informant in the US tax investigation of UBS AG was sentenced today....for helping the Swiss bank's American clients cheat on their taxes."
On January 8, 2010, Birkenfeld voluntarily surrendered to begin serving his sentence.
On August 18, 2009, the Justice Department said:
"Defendant Birkenfeld('s)....substantial assistance has been timely, significant, useful, truthful, complete and reliable. (Without his help, the UBS) scheme would not have been discovered by the US government."
Yet they indicted, convicted, and imprisoned him.
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
2
2
2
