A UBS banker told the US how the bank hid Americans' money, went to prison for 31 months, and the IRS paid him $104 million

Bradley Birkenfeld, an American, was a private banker for UBS in Geneva. His lawyers say he found the bank's illegal practices in 2005 and, when the bank did not stop them, reported them in 2007 to the Justice Department, the Senate, the IRS and the SEC. He described how UBS bankers travelled to the United States to recruit wealthy Americans and help them hide money from the IRS. In 2008 he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States. The Justice Department said he had not revealed his own help to one client; his lawyers deny this. He received 40 months, entered prison in 2010 and served 31. UBS avoided prosecution by paying $780 million, admitting it helped foster tax evasion and disclosing data on more than 250 accounts. It later agreed to hand over data on another 4,450 accounts. At least 33,000 Americans then disclosed offshore accounts, and the IRS collected more than $5 billion. On 11 September 2012 his lawyers announced, and the IRS confirmed, an award of $104 million under the 2006 law, which pays up to 30 percent of what is collected. His lawyers said it was the largest award ever made to an individual whistleblower. He had left prison on 1 August 2012 and was serving home confinement while working as a groundskeeper in New Hampshire. Status: served his sentence; award paid 2012.