U.S. officials indict 2 Swiss citizens in UBS tax evader case

— -- A Swiss banking executive and a Swiss lawyer have been accused of helping American clients of Swiss banking giant UBS and other suspected tax evaders hide assets in offshore accounts, prosecutors said Thursday.

The indictment, filed one day after UBS agreed to disclose account information for 4,450 U.S. customers, marked an expansion of a broad federal probe into offshore banking as prosecutors focus on intermediaries who allegedly advised tax evaders.

Hansruedi Schumacher, the former head of UBS' cross-border banking business, and Matthias Rickenbach, a Zurich attorney who represents American investors, were charged with conspiring to defraud the IRS and U.S. government.

They could not be located for comment. Alicia Valle, special counsel to the U.S. Attorney's office in Miami, said they are believed to be in Switzerland.

According to the indictment, Schumacher and Rickenbach helped clients hide and control funds in offshore accounts listed in the names of foreign firms and accessed via credit or debit cards not linked to the U.S. They allegedly gave clients cellphones that enabled American clients to contact them without being detected, and hand-delivered cash to the investors.

Their wealthy clientele included John McCarthy and Jeffrey Chernick, UBS clients now charged in tax cases.

The Swiss advisers allegedly helped Chernick, the Stanfordville, N.Y., owner of a firm that represents Asian toy companies, hide assets by creating a Hong Kong entity and opening accounts at UBS and a second Swiss bank.

The second institution was Neue Zuercher Bank, where Schumacher worked after leaving UBS. He told Chernick that NZB accounts were "beyond the reach" of federal prosecutors because the bank had no U.S. locations, the indictment charged.

The Swiss advisers also allegedly told Chernick that $45,000 would be paid to "a Swiss government official" in a bid to learn if Chernick's UBS account would be disclosed to U.S. authorities.