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Seeks Correction of False and Misleading Statements Filed With Court and Investigation into Privacy Act Violations
Washington, D.C. January 5, 2010. Today UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld filed an complaint
with the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Professional
Responsibility (OPR) seeking a formal investigation into incomplete and
misleading statements made by attorneys for the Justice Department.
DOJ falsely accused Mr. Birkenfeld
of improperly withholding information from the U.S. government. DOJ
claimed Mr. Birkenfeld withheld information to protect billionaire Igor
Olenicoff, who held monies in an illegal Swiss bank account. Justice
Department attorneys made the false
statements in open court during Mr. Birkenfeld's sentencing hearing and
on the "public record" during a DOJ interview with 60 Minutes.
The documents filed with OPR
today prove that Mr. Birkenfeld did not withhold information regarding Mr. Olenicoff.
They
conclusively demonstrate that Mr. Birkenfeld provided under oath
testimony before the Senate Permanent Committee on Investigations
detailing the illegal holdings of Mr. Olenicoff. This testimony was
provided in 2007, before Mr. Olenicoff was indicted, before he entered a guilty plea and before he was sentenced.
Dean
Zerbe, National Whistleblowers Center Special Counsel and a co-counsel
for Mr. Birkenfeld, added: "The Department of Justice's decision to
send the nation's top tax whistleblower to jail is bringing joy to the
hearts of bankers in Switzerland and to tax cheats everywhere. Senior
Justice officials need
to take responsibility and explain to the country why Brad Birkenfeld
is serving more time in prison then those who actually evaded taxes.
The whole basis that the government has
used to justify sending Brad to prison for 40 months -- that he didn't
come forward about Mr. Olenikoff - does not hold up under the light of
the facts. It is the honest taxpayers that are the losers because of
Justice's actions."
Stephen
M. Kohn, National Whistleblowers Center Executive Director and one of
the attorneys for Mr. Birkenfeld, stated, "This is an absurd Kafkaesque
miscarriage of Justice. The biggest tax whistleblower in history, a
man who has already saved the taxpayers over two billion dollars
($2,000,000,000.00) faces 40 months imprisonment, while Government
lawyers misrepresent his motives. The taxpayers will be the biggest
losers if Mr. Birkenfeld is thrown behind bars on January 8,
2010."
Mr. Birkenfeld is scheduled to report to federal prison
to begin his 40-month jail term on January 8, 2010. The attorneys for
Mr. Birkenfeld have requested that OPR conduct an
immediate review before Mr. Birkenfeld commences his sentence.
Copy of January 5, 2010 OPR Complaint
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