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Leading Anti-Corruption Groups Request Presidential Pardon for UBS Whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld |
Washington, D.C. January 15, 2010.
Leading national and international anti-corruption groups have joined
the National Whistleblowers Center (NWC) in a clemency campaign on
behalf of UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld. In an open letter
to President Obama, the groups request a presidential pardon for Mr.
Birkenfeld, or commutation of his prison sentence to time served in
order to "reverse the devastating impact Mr. Birkenfeld's case will
have on international law enforcement efforts."
The National
Whistleblowers Center, with support from public interest groups, is
urging people to personally endorse the clemency campaign for Mr.
Birkenfeld through their TAKE ACTION program.
Mr.
Birkenfeld blew the whistle on UBS bank in Switzerland, exposing a $20
billion tax scheme involving illegal, offshore bank accounts. Despite
the government's acknowledgement that the multi-billion dollar UBS tax
fraud scheme would have continued undetected without Mr. Birkenfeld's
voluntary disclosure, Mr. Birkenfeld commenced serving a 3-year,
4-month prison sentence on January 8, 2010.
The letter points out that "in
return for his extraordinary cooperation with the U.S. government, Mr.
Birkenfeld remains the only banker involved the in the largest illegal
tax scheme in history to receive a prison
sentence," and advises that "great importance must be placed on the
public policy implications of Mr. Birkenfeld's case, international
bankers must be able to come forward to report illegal practices like
those exposed by Mr. Birkenfeld."
Lindsey
M. Williams, Director of Advocacy and Development, National
Whistleblowers Center, said, "Sadly, saving the American taxpayers
billions of dollars was not enough to save Mr. Birkenfeld's freedom. A
presidential pardon is the only way to correct this injustice."
For a copy of the letter click here.
For a copy of the action alert, click here.
For more information on Bradley Birkenfeld, click here.
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Tags: Press Releases, Bradley Birkenfeld - Archive
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