RENEE MONTAGNE, host: NPR's business news starts with a major indictment for tax evasion.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: It's a major move in a U.S. investigation of tax evasion, and it involves often secretive Swiss banks. Yesterday U.S. authorities charged several top executives at Switzerland's largest bank with helping thousands of wealthy Americans evade some $20 billion in taxes. The indictment comes five months after a former banker at UBS pleaded guilty to helping an American client avoid taxes. The banker also said he would help U.S. investigators.
A U.S. grand jury has indicted a top UBS bank official with conspiring to help 20,000 wealthy Americans hide their assets from the IRS. Raoul Weil is the chairman of global wealth management at UBS in Zurich. Prosecutors say his bank helped U.S. clients dodge taxes with false documents. Weil's attorney has said his client is innocent and intends to fight the charges.