The U.S. Justice Department has indicted the Swiss bank Wegelin this week for conspiring with U.S. taxpayers to hide over USD $1.2 billion in assets from the U.S. government. Wegelin did not have any offices in the United States, but did access the U.S. banking system through a correspondant account with UBS. Three bankers, Michael Berlinka, Urs Frei and Roger Keller, were named in the indictment. The indictment is notable for targeting a bank not operating in the United States, and for showing the increasing pressure the U.S. government is directing towards foreign banks that attempt to shelter U.S. clients from the IRS. The government has already reached agreements several of Switzerland's largest banks to provide information on their clients to the IRS.
