UK millionaires facing prosecution in Liechtenstein tax evasion scam

The tax evasion scandal first broke in February when a whistleblower working for one of the tax haven's main banks, LGT, sold lists of tax evaders to foreign governments.

UK Revenue & Customs is now trying to force around 25 foreign banks to reveal information about their clients with offshore accounts.

It is not just UK clients who are coming under scrutiny.

Vaduz Castle in Liechtenstein, which has become a tax haven for wealthy individuals

Dave Hartnett, acting chairman of Revenue & Customs, said: ' Having seen what we have seen, we are now worried about the rest.'

In total, more than 15,000 of LGT’s clients from 50 different countries are believed to have salted away up to £110bn with the bank.

Revenue & Customs inspectors are believed to have paid about £100,000 for the disc, which carried information on accounts held by some of Britain's richest families.

It was the first time that any tax authority had seized such detailed information on Liechtenstein accounts.

The small nation’s other financial institutions are also now coming under increasing pressure from foreign tax authorities to cooperate in the investigation.

In Germany, tax inspectors have forced evaders to pay £110 million and German clients who have already been fined are now suing the bank where they hoarded their undeclared assets.

Now, more than a dozen Germans trapped in the sting are suing LGT in a class action lawsuit to be heard in rich and secretive Liechtenstein.

Heinz Frommelt, a lawyer in Liechtenstein, said: ‘Many people are naturally really angry and seeking redress.’

Liechtenstein is a tiny landlocked nation which borders Switzerland and Austria. Although popular for its skiing, it now best know for its status as a tax haven