We have previously blogged that Wegelin and Co., a now defunct Swiss bank, had been indicted in the Southern District of New York and a contemporaneous forfeiture proceeding had been instituted against Wegelin's deposits in a U.S. correspondent account. See Wegelin Indicted in SDNY with Money Laundering Forfeiture (FTCB 2/2/12), here. Wegelin is defunct because of the reputational and other pressures arising from the U.S. investigation of Swiss banks' U.S. tax evasion enabler activities.
Yesterday, the Judge Swain of USDC SDNY entered a default judgment for the U.S. in the forfeiture proceeding. See USAO SDNY press release, titled Manhattan U.S. Attorney Forfeits Over $16 Million Seized from Indicted Swiss Bank's U.S. Account (4/24/12), here. There is a parallel DOJ Tax press release, in pretty much the same language, but it has not yet been posted on the DOJ Tax press release web page. I will post the link when it is available.
Addendum 4/18/12: Asher Rubinstein has a good post on the forfeiture: Wegelin’s US Account Taken by US Treasury: Global Implications and What it Means for Non-Compliant Foreign Accounts (4/27/12), here.
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