Whistle-blower may reap billions

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- A former UBS banker sentenced to a 40-month sentence by U.S. authorities is seeking billions of dollars for blowing the whistle on his former employer.

Bradley Birkenfeld, who admitted to assisting wealthy U.S. clients hide their assets from the Internal Revenue Service, is expected to begin his prison term in January, The New York Times reported Thursday.

He is also being represented by Steven Kohn, who represented Lina Tripp during former president Bill Clinton's sex scandal case and who is now executive director of the National Whistleblowers Center.

As thousands of UBS customers are making amends with the IRS after the bank paid a multimillion-dollar fine based on Birkenfeld's testimony, the banker who smuggled diamonds to Switzerland in toothpaste tube, is "seeking at least several billion dollars," Kohn said.

After the IRS offered a period of amnesty for tax-evaders, more than 14,700 stepped forward to declare previously hidden assets.

In court papers, the Department of Justice said Birkenfeld was instrumental in moving the case forward. "Without Mr. Birkenfeld … I doubt this massive fraud scheme would have been discovered by the United States government," prosecutor Kevin Downing said in papers filed in the case.