Background Information: Bradley Birkenfeld

In 2012, Bradley Birkenfeld made history when he obtained the largest whistleblower reward ever given to an individual whistleblower in the twenty-five year history of federal qui tam or whistleblower reward laws.  Click Here to See the Reward Letter/Determination.   The award was obtained by KKC attorneys after three years of litigation before the IRS Whistleblower Office and recognized Mr. Birkenfeld’s numerous contributions to the public interest.

Mr. Birkenfeld was the first international banker to blow the whistle on illegal off shore accounts held in Switzerland by U.S. Citizens. His disclosures have resulted in an unprecedented recoveries for the U.S. taxpayers, including $780 million dollars civil fines and penalties paid by UBS bank, over $5 billion dollars in collections from U.S. taxpayers who had illegally held “undeclared” offshore accounts in Switzerland and other countries and forced the Swiss government to change its tax treaty with the United States in order to turn over the names of over 4900 American taxpayers who held illegal accounts UBS.  The long-term benefits derived from Mr. Birkenfelds’s courageous whistleblower will be felt for years to come.

Obtain information on the National Whistleblower Center’s campaign against illegal offshore banking

 NBC Nightly News: Once-jailed banker gets IRS payout (9-11-12)

A Crack in the Swiss Vault. Bradley Birkenfeld and his attorney,Stephen Kohn, appear on CBS 60 Minutes news magazine. January 3, 2010.

 TAKE ACTION! Request Pardon for Bradley Birkenfeld! 

News articles on Birkenfeld case:

• UBS whistleblower gets $104M from IRS for helping in Swiss bank probe

• Washington Post: Stephen Kohn wins another whistleblower case
• $104M Payday From IRS! 
• International and National Advocacy Organizations Urge Attorney General Holder to Investigate
• December 7, 2009 Letter to Attorney General Holder from KKC
• Motion to Delay Report Date  
• Exhibit A to Motion to Delay Report Date
• Bradley Birkenfeld Featured on CBS's 60 Minutes Jan 3
• World Radio Switzerland interview of Stephen Kohn
• UBS whistleblower asks why he is going to prison
• UBS Tax Fraud Whistleblower Receives Person of the Year Honor
• UBS Informant Files Complaint Against Prosecutors
• Birkenfeld Seeks Correction of False and Misleading Statements Filed With Court and Investigation into Privacy Act Violations 
• UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld deserves statue on Wall Street, not prison sentence
• IRS Targets Lawbreakers