UBS hands Singapore client details to US

UBS bank has been forced into a climb down by agreeing to hand over details of one suspected tax dodger to United States tax authorities, following a lengthy legal battle. The client had switched accounts from Switzerland to Singapore in an effort to evade US scrutiny. The case apparently breaks down another barrier that had frustrated the attempts of the US to track down tax cheats. The US had earlier forced Switzerland to dismantle its banking secrecy laws to hand over files on Swiss-based accounts. But prosecutors have not found it so easy to obtain information of Swiss bank clients with accounts held outside of Switzerland. Following three years of fruitless negotiation with UBS to release details of one such client with a Singapore account, the US Justice Department in February asked a Miami court to force the bank to comply. “The interest of the United States in combating tax evasion by US taxpayers through the use of secret foreign bank accounts substantially ...