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| US agrees Swiss tax deal over UBS | US agrees Swiss tax deal over UBS |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The US and Switzerland have signed an agreement designed to end a tax evasion dispute surrounding UBS's US customers. | |
| The Swiss banking giant will now give the US tax authorities the details of more than 4,000 client accounts, US officials said. | The Swiss banking giant will now give the US tax authorities the details of more than 4,000 client accounts, US officials said. |
| The US Justice Department had been originally seeking the names of 50,000 US customers with Swiss accounts. | |
| Washington said last week it would end its legal action in the US against UBS once the final deal was signed. | Washington said last week it would end its legal action in the US against UBS once the final deal was signed. |
| The deal looks set to end a stand-off that has lasted months. | The deal looks set to end a stand-off that has lasted months. |
| Settlement | |
| In February, UBS admitted to tax fraud in the US and agreed to pay $780m (£467m) as part of a provisional deal to settle charges that it helped thousands of US clients use Swiss bank accounts to evade taxes. | In February, UBS admitted to tax fraud in the US and agreed to pay $780m (£467m) as part of a provisional deal to settle charges that it helped thousands of US clients use Swiss bank accounts to evade taxes. |
| UBS also handed over a limited number of account details, but US officials argued this was not enough and launched a fresh legal challenge to obtain the identities of all the bank's US account holders. | |
| The US accused UBS of hiding nearly $15bn in assets of US customers. | |
| UBS had been caught between two legal regimes, essentially violating US tax laws if it had not disclosed the names and violating Swiss secrecy laws if it did. | |
| But US Justice Department attorney Stuart Gibson told a US court last week the two sides had now reached an out-of-court settlement. | |
| Switzerland has long been famous for its status as a tax haven. | Switzerland has long been famous for its status as a tax haven. |