BUSINESS BRIEFING / BANKING
A former UBS banker described by prosecutors as the man most responsible for sparking a broad U.S. investigation into rich Americans’ use of secret Swiss bank accounts to evade taxes was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison.
Prosecutors gave Bradley Birkenfeld, a 44-year-old U.S. citizen, credit for voluntarily disclosing illegal tactics by Swiss banking giant UBS and others. But they said Birkenfeld initially refused to confess his own misconduct and hoped to collect a cash reward under U.S. whistle-blower laws.
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