Ethics and governance in the European Financial centers

Bloomberg has reported that Switzerland asked the U.S. not to pressure UBS AG for client data located in the Alpine country as investigators look into whether the world's largest wealth manager helped American clients evade taxes.

According to Swiss law, bank secrecy can only be lifted in connection with a criminal offense, such as tax fraud or money laundering. Tax evasion isn't a crime in Switzerland. Should the finance ministry agree for the account details to be given out, account holders would be informed before their details are handed over, giving them the option to go to court.