MAYBE A LITTLE ECONOMIC JUSTICE

As David Cay Johnston has pointed out, the top 0.1% are making a killing, often illegally. Here's hoping this investigation nails some of these pigs.

UBS Banker Detained in Tax Inquiry
By LYNNLEY BROWNING
Published: May 7, 2008
NY Times

A top-ranking UBS executive was briefly detained by federal authorities in the United States in connection with a widening investigation into the Swiss bank’s work with questionable tax transactions, the bank said Wednesday.

The bank declined to name the executive, but a person briefed on the matter identified him as Martin Liechti. Mr. Liechti, whose title is head of wealth management, Americas International, is UBS’s top private banker for the Americas.

The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating UBS for its work involving tax issues from 2000 to 2007. The investigation concerns information provided by Swiss-based UBS advisers that may have allowed American clients to evade their tax obligations.

The detainment of a senior banking executive is unusual, and signals that the Justice Department is widening its scrutiny of questionable tax-related transactions to include foreign and offshore components. UBS is one of the world’s biggest providers of money-management services, including private banking, to wealthy individuals.