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U.S. markets recover from steep losses
WASHINGTON, April 15 (UPI) -- UBS whistle-blower Bradley Birkenfeld chose April 15, Tax Day, to request President Barack Obama grant him clemency, the National Whistleblowers Center said.
Birkenfeld was the star witness in the U.S. Department of Justice case against Swiss bank UBS in 2009 in which the bank was accused of helping wealthy U.S. clients hide assets from the IRS, amounting to a $20 billion tax evasion scheme.
UBS agreed to pay a $780 million fine and hand the IRS the names of about 4,000 U.S. clients.
Birkenfeld, a UBS banker, admitted to helping clients hide their assets -- including smuggling diamonds out of the country in toothpaste tubes -- and was given a 40-month sentence, which began in January.
Birkenfeld has also petitioned to receive billions for helping to expose the scheme.
In granting Birkenfeld clemency, however, Obama could "send a message to the world that the U.S. is serious about cracking down on bank secrecy," Birkenfeld's attorney Dean Zerbe said.
"When the government cannot stop offshore tax evasion, it is the honest American taxpayer who has to foot the bill," Zerbe said.
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