Whistle-Blower Awarded Handsomely; Sometimes Crime Pays

After spending two years in prison, Bradley Birkenfeld, a former banker at UBS, was rewarded $104 million for information he told the IRS. Birkenfeld explained how the bank helped thousands of Americans evade taxes, and therefore received an unprecedented federal payout. Wealthy Americans had been using UBS and other Swiss banks to cheat the IRS. The most important part of Birkenfeld’s confession is that he effectively shut down other bank’s illegal offshore accounts. Twelve offshore banks, 50 American taxpayers, and lawyers and advisers have all been charged with crimes. Birkenfeld stated that he delivered and documented this entire scandal, the largest in U.S. history, and is now the most famous whistle-blower in the history of the world because he did the right thing. Although he claims his motivation was to put an end to crime, one cannot help but think greed ultimately led Birkenfeld to get his former company in trouble. This case should effectively end illegal offshore accounts, as people will become increasingly distrustful of their bankers. -- Editorial Staff