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UBS ‘knew of rule breaches’
Evening Standard 13 Aug 2008
Senior executives at Swiss bank UBS reportedly knew some of their bankers may have breached US securities rules at least a year before inquiries began.
A leaked letter from UBS chairman Peter Kurer, then the bank's general counsel, to Bradley Birkenfeld, a former UBS banker at the centre of US inquiries into whether the bank helped its wealthy American clients evade taxes, shows Kurer had been contacted by a whistleblower.
Kurer said he had drawn attention to the problems the bank faced because of the inadequate securities registration. Kurer said the information had prompted an internal investigation and that he would recommend procedural changes.
It is dated May 2006 and copied to Marcel Rohner, then head of private banking and now group chief executive, as well as audit committee member Lawrence Weinbach.
It is being held by the US Justice Department. UBS officials say the whistleblower referred only to possible breaches of securities law.
