The U.S. and Swiss governments have reached an agreement on a lawsuit in which the IRS had been seeking the identities of the U.S. taxpayers behind 52,000 secret accounts at the Swiss bank UBS.
The details of the arrangement were worked out between Switzerland and the U.S. over the last few days, according to the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police, after an agreement in principle was reached between Switzerland and the U.S. on July 31.
Judge Alan Gold of the Federal District Court in Miami, who had been overseeing the case, was informed during a telephone conference call on Wednesday. The parties have initialed agreements, Justice Department attorney Stuart Gibson said during the call.
The head of the FDJP, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, said the outcome was a success, reflecting the intensive efforts of all involved. I am pleased to say that it has been possible to resolve the matter in the form of a compromise between two sovereign [countries] that is in the interests of both states, she said in a statement.
The settlement now has to be signed by representatives of both governments. Details concerning the content of the settlement will be released once the settlement has been signed. According to some preliminary reports of the deal last week, UBS agreed to provide information on only 5,000 of its clients and pay an extra fine. In February, the bank agreed to pay $780 million to the Justice Department and turn over the names of about 300 clients.
