Opening The Vaults; Is Bank Secrecy Over?

July 2, 2008 — -- The country's wealthiest people have long relied on Swiss banks for privacy; some to secure their substantial assets, some to conceal them. A big shroud of secrecy, however, may soon be lifted. All American holders of Swiss bank accounts at the banking giant UBS could have their account information turned over to the U.S. government as part of an effort to identify tax evaders.

The Justice Department yesterday was granted a wide-reaching subpoena that allows the IRS to seek taxpayer bank data from December 2002 through 2007. The investigation stems from a criminal case involving a former UBS banker who pled guilty last month to conspiracy charges, but the ripple effect will likely extend far beyond his clients. The banker, Bradley Birkenfeld, conjectured that UBS had an estimated $20 billion of undeclared assets that were associated with US taxpayers.

"This could open up a whole can of worms," said former federal prosecutor David Rosenfield.

"There is a strong possibility that this is not an isolated case," said Rosenfield, who now practices white collar defense with Herrick Feinstein in New York. "This is far beyond what the U.S. government has done in the past."

Previously, the U.S. has requested access to specific accounts held by specific individuals, but in this instance the government has requested so-called "John Doe" summonses, in order to access the accounts of an unknown number of unknown Americans. Experts say the John Does could run into the tens of thousands of customers.

'This is the latest crack in bank secrecy," said a former federal prosecutor and defense attorney Sean O'Shea. "This could involve the evasion of hundreds of millions of dollars."

Since the request was granted, some experts ask whether or not those who have been avoiding paying U.S. taxes on their accounts will turn themselves in.

"Will this cause U.S. taxpayers to cut their losses and come in and cooperate and try to cut a deal?" asked Rosenfield. "We might see a flood of people coming in and offering to pay back taxes."