FIRST CLASS MAIL AND EMAIL 

November 25, 2009

The Honorable Eric Holder
Attorney General of the United States
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530

        Re:    URGENT REQUEST FOR INDEPENDENT REVIEW
                  UBS BANK WHISTLEBLOWER CASE
                  BRADLEY CHARLES BIRKENFELD

Dear Attorney General:

We appeal to you today in our capacity as long-term advocates against fraud and corruption.  

We ask that you personally review the case of Bradley Charles Birkenfeld and take swift action to prevent one of the worst setbacks in international law enforcement history.

As you may be aware, starting in April 2007, Mr. Birkenfeld voluntarily and without any immunity deal provided the United States government with an unprecedented amount of information about the largest Swiss bank in the world, UBS AG.  His whistleblower contributions led directly to the agreement between the United States and UBS AG for the payment of $780,000,000.00 in fines and penalties and an agreement to commence turning over the identity of some of the 19,000 illegal secret bank accounts owned by U.S. "taxpayers" identified by Mr. Birkenfeld.

Department of Justice representatives have outlined Mr. Birkenfeld's numerous contributions to the public interest in various court documents and on-the-record statements. The information provided by Mr. Birkenfeld constituted "substantial assistance " to the government and that "without Mr. Birkenfeld walking through the door of the Department of Justice in the summer of 2007" the "massive fraud scheme" perpetuated against the American people by UBS would not "have been discovered." 1

Punishing Mr. Birkenfeld with over three years in prison will certainly undermine the long-term interests of law enforcement. Mr. Birkenfeld's information is only the tip of the iceberg concerning the cancerous nature of international bank secrecy. The impact of this case on the thousands of other international bankers, who, like Mr. Birkenfeld, could blow the whistle on the trillions of dollars hidden in secret offshore accounts, will be devastating.

International treaties, signed by the U.S. fully acknowledge that bank secrecy is the handmaiden of corruption. These treaties agree that corruption undermines the rule of law and threatens human rights around the world. The destructive impact of Mr. Birkenfeld's sentencing will radically undermine the ability of law enforcement to detect, prosecute and prevent illegal off-shore banking practices.

Due the potential impact of Mr. Birkenfeld's disclosure on compliance and law enforcement efforts world-wide, we ask that you personally and immediately conduct an independent review of this matter and take necessary corrective action to ensure that the policies underlined in U.S. whistleblower laws are fully and completely vindicated. We believe that a thorough review of Mr. Birkenfeld's case should include consultation with experts in the areas of international treaties and banking.  We also believe that the international impacts of this case demand consultation with the Secretary of State.  Please carefully evaluate the crime that Mr. Birkenfeld is accused of committing versus the strong public interest in encouraging other whistleblowers to step forward.

Respectfully submitted,

Lindsey M. Williams, Esq.
Director of Advocacy and Development
National Whistleblowers Center

Jesselyn Radack
Homeland Security Director
Government Accountability Project

Danielle Brian
Executive Director
Project On Government Oversight 

Vanja Djurickovic
The Network for Affirmation of NGO Sector (MANS)
Podgorica, Montenegro (PDF version)

David W. Hutton
Executive Director
Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform (FAIR)
Canada

David Ondracka, Director
Eliska Cisarova, Project Manager
Transparency International – Czech Republic 

Emma Levy
Advocacy Co-ordinator, Protected Disclosures Act Unit
Open Democracy Advice Centre (South Africa)

Joni Arends
Executive Director
Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety

Dr. James Murtagh
Co-Chair
International Association of Whistleblowers

Zena Crenshaw Logal
Executive Director
POPULAR, Inc.

Rodney Logal
Executive Comm. Chair
National Judicial Conduct and Disability Law Project, Inc.

Michael R. McCray
Chair
The 3.5.7 Commission

Dr. Andrew D. Jackson
Asst. Campaign Chair
Focus-On-Indiana  

David B. Nolan, Esq.
President and Legal Director
Federal Ethics Center  

Linda Lewis
Whistleblowers USA

1. United States' Motion for Sentence Reduction file in Case No. 08-CR-60099-Zloch (August 17, 2009), See Transcript of Sentencing, U.S. District Court of Florida, Case No. 089-60099-CR-Zloch, Tr. 12, (Statements and admissions of the prosecuting Assistant United States Attorney) (August 21, 2009).