Jailed Banker Who Helped Crack UBS Gets $104 Million Payout (IRS pays whistleblower)

Yahoo Finance ^ | 9/11/2012 | Eamon Javers

[Beave Meister]

Attorneys for jailed former Swiss banker Bradley Birkenfeld announced Tuesday that the IRS will pay him $104 million as a whistleblower reward for information he turned over to the US government.

The information Birkenfeld revealed detailed the inner workings of the secretive private wealth management division of the Swiss bank UBS (UBS), where the American-born Birkenfeld helped his US clients evade taxes by hiding wealth overseas.

At one point during his private banking career, Birkenfeld reportedly brought diamonds across the US border secured inside a toothpaste tube.

Tuesday's announcement represents an astonishing turn of fortune for Birkenfeld, who was released from federal prison in August after serving 31 months on charges relating to his efforts to help a wealthy client avoid taxes.

[Beave Meister]

Now that's what I call a nice little retirement nest-egg.

[GeronL]

??

tax dollars at work

[SECURE AMERICA]

So Crime does pay............

[KingOfVagabonds]

UBS is a joke. How many hits can this company take? Rogue traders, major Facebook losses, etc.

[upchuck]

Here's irony: In the article it is claimed that Birkenfeld's whistle blowing "resulted in the collection of over $5 billion dollars in back taxes, fines and penalties that otherwise would have remained outside the reach of the government."

Here's the kicker: Birkenfeld is the only one to see jail time.

[aimhigh]

I’d love to know how many rich Democrats were involved in these bank accounts.

[Jack Hammer]

Wow - much better than a mere thirty pieces of silver.

[Vide]

Top Obama backer leaves UBS.

/twilight-zone music

[polstar123]

The whistle-blower law, born out of the occupy wall street spirit, is a joke and this payment proves it. When my kids tattle on each other they don’t get a percentage of the settlement and neither should this guy. What kind of culture are we fostering between our fellow man?

[DennisR]

If you think UBS is a joke, what about the IRS??? I hope everyone does as I did this morning and faxes or emails or calls every Senator and Representative they can thing of about this. I could see giving a whistleblower $5k or $10k, but $104 MILLION? That is 0.104 BILLION dollars, people! No wonder we are $16 trillion in debt with people like this running the show. Disgusting.