I've posted previously on the Justice Department and the IRS and their attempts to enforce disclosure laws concerning offshore financial accounts. Of particular interest have been accounts maintained with banking giant UBS. Recently, in a story written for the Los Angeles Times, reporter Stuart Pfeifer provides details surrounding Swiss banker Bradley Birkenfeld, who "was at the center of a U.S. government crackdown that has all but eliminated the ability of Americans to conceal their wealth in offshore banks."
Birkenfeld spent 15 years working for banks in Switzerland, making a
cozy living for himself and tax-free profits for his clients.
An avid skier, he owned a $1-million home in Zermatt, Switzerland, at
the foot of the Matterhorn. He kept an apartment in Geneva, drove a
luxury BMW and traveled throughout the world, according to interviews
and court records.