Judge Orders UBS to Give Up Client ListAs we reported yesterday, the Justice Department sought a court order against UBS, to force the Swiss banking giant to give up the identify of its U.S. shareholders. A long court battle was predicted, and now it has begun.
From the International Herald Tribune:
An order signed by Judge Joan A. Lenard of U.S. District Court in Miami gives investigators the authority to request the information from UBS. A spokesman for the Internal Revenue Service said the agency, which was working with U.S. prosecutors, was expected to serve UBS with a summons for names within several days. The bank can either turn the names over — an unprecedented move for a Swiss bank under secrecy laws — or appeal the judge’s ruling.