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Sometimes, crime does pay.Bradley C. Birkenfeld, a former banker at UBS, recently served two and a half years in prison for conspiring with a wealthy California developer to evade United States income taxes.
But Mr. Birkenfeld, 47, has a lot to show for his time and effort: The Internal Revenue Service acknowledged on Tuesday that information he had provided was so helpful that he would receive a $104 million whistle-blower award for revealing the secrets of the Swiss banking system.
By divulging the schemes that UBS used to encourage American citizens to dodge their taxes, Mr. Birkenfeld led to an investigation that has greatly diminished Switzerland's status as a secret haven for American tax cheats and allowed the Treasury to recover billions in unpaid taxes.
In addition to paying $780 million in 2009 to avoid criminal prosecution, the bank turned over account information regarding more than 4,500 American clients.
The disclosure of Swiss banking information - which caused a fierce political debate in Switzerland before winning approval from the country's Parliament - set off such a panic among wealthy Americans that more than 14,000 of them joined a tax amnesty program. I.R.S. officials say the amnesty program has helped recover more than $5 billion in unpaid taxes.
Mr. Birkenfeld's award, the largest ever paid by the I.R.S., is also a milestone for the agency's whistle-blower program, which offers informants rewards of up to 30 percent of any fines and unpaid taxes recouped by the government.
But Mr. Birkenfeld, 47, has a lot to show for his time and effort: The Internal Revenue Service acknowledged on Tuesday that information he had provided was so helpful that he would receive a $104 million whistle-blower award for revealing the secrets of the Swiss banking system.
By divulging the schemes that UBS used to encourage American citizens to dodge their taxes, Mr. Birkenfeld led to an investigation that has greatly diminished Switzerland's status as a secret haven for American tax cheats and allowed the Treasury to recover billions in unpaid taxes.
In addition to paying $780 million in 2009 to avoid criminal prosecution, the bank turned over account information regarding more than 4,500 American clients.
The disclosure of Swiss banking information - which caused a fierce political debate in Switzerland before winning approval from the country's Parliament - set off such a panic among wealthy Americans that more than 14,000 of them joined a tax amnesty program. I.R.S. officials say the amnesty program has helped recover more than $5 billion in unpaid taxes.
Mr. Birkenfeld's award, the largest ever paid by the I.R.S., is also a milestone for the agency's whistle-blower program, which offers informants rewards of up to 30 percent of any fines and unpaid taxes recouped by the government.
Oh, but don't miss the punchline:
Since the law was strengthened in 2006, it has spawned a cottage industry of whistle-blower lawyers and private investigators. They have generated hundreds of claims alleging tens of billions of dollars in tax evasion. In a few cases, hedge funds have actually invested in the cases, paying whistle-blowers cash up front in exchange for a percentage of any award they ultimately collect.
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