Offshore Tax Evasion Case: Former UBS AG’s Raoul Weil Declared a Fugitive

Offshore tax evasion and international tax avoidance schemes have been priorities of the IRS and its IRS Whistleblower Program, as our whistleblower lawyer blog has followed repeatedly.

This week, the U.S. prosecution of the former head of UBS AG’s wealth management business, Raoul Weil, took a strange turn as he failed to surrender himself and was declared a fugitive. Weil allegedly conspired to help 17,000 American taxpayers conceal approximately $20 billion of assets in Swiss accounts, to avoid payment of U.S. taxes.

Weil is not the only person to try to conceal himself from the many ongoing DOJ and IRS investigations into tax fraud, tax evasion, and other tax cheating and fraud. In June, former hedge fund manager Samuel Israel III reportedly tried to fake his own death, rather than face a 20-year prison sentence for defrauding investors out of $400 million. (He later turned himself in to authorities.)

Of course, these disappearances raise questions about Bernard Madoff’s actions while not incarcerated as he faces the music for what is apparently perhaps the largest known fraud scheme in history.

Since the birth of the new IRS Whistleblower Program, our firm Finch McCranie, LLP has represented whistleblowers in the new program. We have represented clients with IRS Whistleblower claims in the hedge fund industry, other financial services industries, real estate, manufacturing, and many other businesses, as tax cheating is not confined to one area.

You may contact us toll-free at 800-228-9159, or by email by clicking HERE. There is no charge for consulting with us about a potential IRS Whistleblower case or qui tam whistleblower case under the False Claims Act.