Italy arrests ex-UBS executive Raoul Weil over US tax case
A former top executive at Swiss banking giant UBS wanted in the United States for allegedly helping wealthy Americans hide US$20 billion in taxes has been arrested in Italy, police said.
A former top executive at Swiss banking giant UBS wanted in the United States for allegedly helping wealthy Americans hide US$20 billion in taxes has been arrested in Italy, police said.
Raoul Weil, 53, had been staying in a luxury hotel in the city of Bologna where he checked in under his real name, triggering a police check because he was on an international fugitive list.
"He was arrested at the hotel and he is now being held in prison. He did not explain why he was in Italy," a spokeswoman for Bologna police said.
The officer said the arrest took place on Friday but added details of the case were only released on Sunday because of police policy.
Weil, who was chairman of the global wealth management service at UBS in Zurich, was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2008 for his alleged role in overseeing the US cross-border business. The Swiss national always denied the charges and was declared a fugitive by US courts.
According to the indictment, between 2002 and 2007, Weil supervised the Swiss bank's overseas activities, which serviced some 20,000 customers.
The indictment alleges that Weil and co-conspirators helped customers from the United States conceal around US$20 billion in assets from the American tax authorities.
