U.S. Federal Judge Declares Swiss Banker, Lawyer Fugitives From Justice

In its ongoing attack on the Swiss banking system, the U.S. continues to pursue alleged cases of Swiss bankers helping Americans hide assets in Swiss banks. The most recent has U.S. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley declaring Swiss banker Hansruedi Schumacher and attorney Matthias Rickenbach fugitives from justice in connection to charges of aiding Americans to hide their assets in the Swiss banking system.

Schumacher and Rickenbach were both indicted on charges of fraud concerning the aid. They supposedly have conspired to ‘defraud’ the American government through aiding the alleged tax evasion.

Schumacher headed up the private banking business of Neue Zuercher Bank (NZB), where he has been accused of placing money in Swiss banking giant UBS and then transferring the capital to accounts held by Neue Zürcher Bank.

Allegedly Rickenbach offered advice to wealthy clients on how to set up bogus offshore accounts for the purpose of hiding assets, said the indictment against them. The two were also accused of offering at least one bribe of $45,000 to an unidentified Swiss government official to find out if information of one of their clients was going to be turned over to the U.S. or not.

Now that the federal judge has declared the two fugitives from justice, the case has been suspended against them until they are brought to justice.

Some of the American clients of the two men have already pleaded guilty of criminal charges related to tax evasion in the U.S. and a number o others with UBS accounts have done the same.

The pair were indicted in August and would face up to five years in prison if they ever go to trial. The two are in Switzerland at this time.

This all originates from the pressure of the U.S. government to have the Swiss open up their banking system more in relationship to cases considered tax evasion under U.S. law; especially with Swiss banking giant UBS.

In a deal with the U.S., UBS agreed to pay a fine of $780 million in February, while also offering to give up the names of 250 of its clients in order to settle a criminal probe. Since that time, Switzerland has turned over approximately 4,450 names of rich clients they serve, while the United States has asked them to turn over the names of close to 52,000 clients.