It is alleged that the 271 year old bank conspired together with US taxpayers and other parties to conceal $1.2bn in secret bank accounts. An estimated $16m have been seized from the bank's correspondent US bank accounts at UBS in Stamford in accordance with a seizure warrant and a civil forfeiture complaint, said the Justice Department.
Manhattan US attorney Preet Bharara said: “Wegelin bank aided and abetted US taxpayers who were in flagrant violation of the tax code. And they were undeterred by the crystal-clear warning they got when they learned that UBS was under investigation for identical practices.”