You moron, it was the Swiss bank who filed the case.
UBS, AIG named in Brazilian bust of alleged tax fraud ring
AFP - 2 hours 10 minutes ago 07-11-07
SAO PAULO (AFP) - Two of the biggest private finance groups in the world, the US corporation AIG and Swiss bank UBS, were named in reports Wednesday detailing a Brazil police operation against an alleged multi-million-dollar tax scam.
The operation, announced in Sao Paulo Tuesday, resulted in the arrest of 19 people -- including a Swiss UBS executive identified as Luc Marc de Pensas, according to several Brazilian newspapers, among them the Folha de Sao Paulo and O Estado de Sao Paulo.
Another Swiss suspect, named in the press as Marc-Henri Dizerens, was also being sought but was thought to have left the country. O Estado de Sao Paulo said he, too, worked for UBS, though it was not clear whether he was still with the bank.
UBS issued a statement Wednesday saying it "confirms that a Swiss-based employee was arrested reportedly in connection with an operation conducted by the Brazilian Federal Police."
It added: "UBS is not aware that it is the target of any investigation in Brazil. UBS is however in contact with the Brazilian authorities as it relates to its employee. UBS has policies in place in order to comply with applicable laws and regulations."
AIG -- America International Group -- said it was unable to comment at this stage.
"We're still gathering the facts," a spokesman, Chris Winans, told AFP.
The Brazilian Federal Police official in charge of the operation, Ricardo Andrade Saadi, told reporters Tuesday that "Swiss financial institutions" had illegally transfered millions of dollars out of the country and into Swiss accounts without paying taxes.
He said the money came from wealthy Brazilians and the total amount of Brazilian tax revenue lost from the alleged fraud over 18 months was one billion reals (576 million dollars).
Those arrested were two workers for Swiss banks, 10 Brazilian company executives, six suspected black-market money-changers and one Brazilian bank employee, he said.
The raids of 45 addresses in the states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia and Amazonas involved nearly 300 federal officers, who seized six million reals and 700,000 dollars in cash.
Police accused the Swiss banks of using the money-changers to get around tax laws on bank transfers.
Wednesday's media reports, sourced to law enforcement officials, said AIG, UBS and another Swiss bank, Clariden Leu, were implicated in the affair.
Executives from those banks allegedly flew in to Brazil to woo rich clients and instruct them to convert cash into dollars for transfer abroad into numbered Swiss accounts, the reports said.
The newspapers also named several of the other suspects apprehended, among them an employee for Clariden Leu, Reto Buzzi, and an employee for AIG, Magda Maria Malvao Portugal, both thought to be Brazilians.
De Pensas was reportedly arrested at his hotel in an upmarket part of Sao Paulo.
The daily O Estado de Sao Paulo published a picture of a man in handcuffs, identifying him as De Pensas.
It reported that he told one of the arresting officers: "I'm not going to stay in custody. Anyone who has money in this country does not stay in custody."
The suspects may be held up to 10 days while a judge decides on whether to jail them pending a possible trial for charges including fraud, tax evasion, money laundering and criminal association.
The police operation was dubbed "Kaspar II", after a similar police swoop in Brazil against the Swiss bank Credit Suisse earlier this year called "Operation Kaspar."
The name itself is in reference to Kaspar von Silenen, the first commander of the Swiss Guards that have been stationed at the Vatican since the beginning of the 16th century.
UBS, AIG named in Brazilian bust of alleged tax fraud ring - Yahoo! News UK