NZB Exec to Testify in FBAR Conspiracy Trial

A former executive of Neue Zurcher Bank (NZB) has surrendered to U.S. marshals and is now expected to testify in the trial of Raoul Weil, a former senior officer of UBS. Weil was indicted in 2008 and charged with conspiracy to defraud the IRS after prosecutors say he helped American clients with Swiss accounts hide those accounts from the IRS. Taxpayers in the United States are permitted to have offshore accounts but must disclose those accounts annually on a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, also known as an FBAR.

Although indicted in 2008, Weil avoided capture for years. Finally he was arrested last fall in Italy and extradited back to the United States. At the time of his indictment, Weil headed UBS’ private wealth division and oversaw accounts of high net wealth Americans. Prosecutors claim he had managers and bankers use nominee accounts and encrypted laptops to help clients avoid detection by the IRS. The indictment says that Weil helped clients avoid FBAR filings by creating nominee accounts and by having managers fill out fictitious IRS W8-BEN forms that concealed the identities of the true owners of the Swiss accounts.

Since his capture, Weil has argued with the court over the availability of defense witnesses. The witnesses he seeks to call are afraid to travel to the United States for fear that they may also be arrested. In recent years, the IRS and Justice Department have targeted bankers that helped Americans evade taxes. Many Swiss bankers are afraid to leave Switzerland for fear that they will be arrested by Interpol on behalf of the U.S. Justice Department.

Weil claims that the Justice Department is allowing prosecution witnesses to come to the U.S. without fear of arrest yet Weil’s banking buddies have been given no such protections. Earlier this fall, Weil asked the court to allow his witnesses to testify by video conference from Zurich. That request was initially denied but on October 6th, the government agreed to safe passage for Weil’s defense witnesses to testify remotely from London.

This week Swiss public radio revealed that an ex NZB executive will testify in the Weil case. That witness was required to post bail and surrender his passport. The broadcaster reports the executive once worked at UBS as well suggesting he was a co-worker of Weil.

The IRS and Justice Department have become very aggressive in recent years in their attempts to ferret out taxpayers with unfilled FBAR forms. By indicting bankers, the Justice Department expects that most will turn over client lists and cooperate with the IRS in exchange for a lighter sentence. Those bankers that were once helping Americans hide money offshore are now testifying against their former clients.

If you have one or more missing FBAR filings or have not reported your offshore assets or income, speak with an experienced IRS tax lawyer immediately. The penalties for failing to file an FBAR are huge. If the IRS determines the failure to report was “willful”, penalties are typically up to the greater of $100,000 or 50% of the highest historical account balance for each unreported account.

Need more information? Contact one of our experienced FBAR lawyers today. For more information, contact attorney Bethany Canfield at or by telephone at (414) 223-0464. All inquiries are protected by the attorney client privilege and kept in confidence.