(17 March 2010 – Australia) UBS AG, of the tax haven Switzerland, said early this week that authorities in Australia are investigating the bank’s offshore businesses since revelations came to light that it helped US customers evade their taxes for years.Branches of the bank including Australia, Britain, and Canada are among a number of Swiss and non-Swiss banks that have been asked to provide tax authorities, in their countries, with information on their cross-border wealth management services, iStockanalyst reported.
The bank said that it is co-operating with the authorities’ requests, while also adhering to Switzerland’s strict banking secrecy rules, iStockanalyst reported.
In the UBS’s 2009 annual report, the bank said that it is premature to speculate on the outcome of any such inquiries.