Switzerland tells UBS not to give USA any information

— -- The Swiss government said Wednesday that it will block banking giant UBS from turning client account data over to U.S. authorities — even by seizing the information, if necessary.

Raising the stakes in an international showdown, the response came days before an evidentiary hearing in a Miami federal court lawsuit in which the IRS seeks the names of 52,000 American clients of UBS.

UBS has refused to turn over the information on grounds that it would violate Swiss banking secrecy laws and subject the bank to prosecution by the Swiss government.

The U.S. Justice Department sued the bank in February, contending it has helped Americans evade millions of dollars in federal taxes by hiding assets in secret offshore accounts. Although federal authorities argued UBS would not face penalties if it surrendered the data under a court order, the Swiss government rejected that conclusion.

"Switzerland makes it perfectly clear that Swiss law prohibits UBS from complying with a possible order by the court in Miami to hand over the client information," the Swiss Department of Justice and Police said in a statement on the agency's website.

In a separate filing in the federal court case, the Swiss government said it would use its authority to ensure that UBS doesn't release the client information, "including if necessary by issuing an order taking effective control of the data … and expressly prohibiting UBS from attempting to comply."

U.S. District Judge Alan Gold gave the federal government until noon on Sunday to file a reply stating "how far it intends to proceed by way of request for enforcement, up through and including receivership and/or seizure of UBS' assets within the United States," if the Swiss government stops UBS from complying.

The standoff has raised pressure on UBS, which in February agreed to a $780 million Justice Department settlement, handed over names of 250 clients whose accounts had potential signs of tax evasion, and exited the offshore business in the U.S.