Lawyer: Former UBS executive accepts extradition to US

A former top UBS executive has agreed to be extradited to the United States from Italy, where he was arrested in October for allegedly helping wealthy Americans hide billions from the taxman. Raoul Weil, 54, has "agreed to extradition to the US because he has always been prepared to confront these charges," his New York-based lawyer Aaron Marcu told AFP late on Monday. Weil, who was once chairman of the global wealth management service at Switzerland's biggest bank UBS, was indicted by a US federal grand jury in 2008 for his alleged role in overseeing the US cross-border business. The Swiss national was declared a fugitive by the US courts and was arrested in mid-October after using his real name to check into a luxury hotel in Bologna. He has always denied the charges against him. "He has never run or tried to hide," Marcu said, stressing that "we expect him to be fully vindicated when we have the opportunity to present our case to a fair and impartial jury." The indictment against him alleges that Weil, who between 2002 and 2007 supervised UBS's overseas activities, and co-conspirators helped US customers conceal about $20 billion (15 billion euros) in assets from tax authorities. Swiss banks are believed to have accepted tens of billions of undeclared dollars from US citizens, though they now refuse such money, and a number of banks are under US investigation. Weil, who left UBS in 2009, has meanwhile been relieved of the chief executive position he has held at Swiss wealth management firm Reuss Private Group since the beginning of the year. "The board took this decision as he will not be available for the time being," a company spokesman told AFP.