ZURICH, Nov 21 (Reuters) - A U.S. client of UBS has
appealed against Berne's plans to pass Swiss-based bank account
data to U.S. authorities as part of a tax fraud probe that could
weaken bank privacy, a Swiss court spokesman said on Friday.
UBS, the world's largest bank to the rich, is the target of
a high-profile U.S. probe into whether the Swiss bank helped
rich Americans evade taxes.
Two Swiss lawyers said earlier this week their U.S. clients
had been told by Swiss tax authorities that their UBS bank data
in Switzerland would be handed over to the United States. The
clients were preparing to fight the decision, the lawyers said.
The appeal, the first related to this investigation, is
expected to be followed by dozens of U.S. holders of Swiss bank
accounts who are fighting for their financial data to remain
confidential, Swiss lawyers have told Reuters.
"An appeal has been filed," a spokesman at the Swiss Federal
Administrative Court told Reuters on Friday, confirming a report
in Swiss newspaper Le Temps.
"I do not know if there will be more of these, but this is
likely."
Swiss lawyers defending U.S. clients say a decision by the
court to allow the transfer of some UBS bank data held in
Switzerland would make it easier in future to lift the curtain
on Swiss bank accounts.
There is no formal deadline for a decision by the Swiss
court, and lawyers say the process could take months.
The U.S. tax fraud probe adds pressure on UBS, which is
struggling to rebuild its name after making more writedowns than
any other bank in Europe in the credit crisis.
UBS shares plunged to an all-time low on Thursday.
Switzerland has a narrower definition of tax fraud than the
United States and will only exchange account data with foreign
authorities if they can prove tax fraud.
U.S. authorities have requested broad access to thousands of
accounts at UBS held by U.S. clients as part of their
investigation. Last week they charged the UBS wealth management
chief with conspiring to help U.S. clients hide $20 billion from
the taxman.
(Reporting by Oliver Hirt and Lisa Jucca, editing by Will
Waterman)
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