Birkenfeld’s lawyers said they believe this is the largest reward ever paid to an individual U.S. whistleblower. UBS paid a $780 million fine in 2009 to resolve the case.
UBS disclosed data on about 250 accounts and finally turned over information on more than 4,450 others. According to Bloomberg News, since the UBS case more than 33,000 U.S. citizens have voluntarily disclosed overseas accounts which generated about $5 billion in tax collections.
Birkenfeld’s award is taxable.
Paul Ausick
Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
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