Boom Lowered on Swiss Bank Workers

MANHATTAN (CN) - Federal prosecutors charged two advisers with an unspecified Swiss bank of conspiring with U.S. clients and others to duck taxes by hiding more than $600 million in offshore accounts.

The indictment accuses Daniela Casadei and Fabio Frazzetto of hiding money for U.S. clients for years, Casadei since the early 1990s, and Frazzetto since 2005.

Both worked as "client advisors" with "Swiss Bank No. 1," according to the indictment.

U.S. taxpayers - and dodgers - are required to report offshore deposits of $10,000 or more. The indictment claims Casadei and Frazzetto used phony names, such as Hydrangea and Red Rubin, in sham corporate accounts to help U.S. citizens dodge taxes.

If convicted, they could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison.

The indictment is part of Uncle Sam's continuing campaign against Swiss banking secrecy. Under diplomatic pressure, Swiss bank UBS agreed in 2009 to hand over more than 4,000 names of U.S. citizen account holders. That deal caused a flurry of "voluntary disclosures" from tax cheaters.

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