The ex-head of UBS global wealth management Raoul Weil has appeared in an Italian court, starting a process which could see him extradited to the United States.
The Swiss national, who was indicted in 2008 for helping rich American clients in tax evasion schemes from 2002-2007, will be held in custody until the justice ministry decides what to do with him.

Weil revealed himself to police after he checked into a hotel in Bologna and his name came up on a police list of outstanding international warrants.

There is a chance he could be extradited to the US as Italy has co-operated with US in the past over matters of extradition.

Although Weil has been a fugitive according to the US courts since 2009, he had worked in asset management in Switzerland for the Reuss Private Group from 2010.

Reuss has 4bn Swiss francs (£2.7bn, 3.2bn, $4.4bn) worth of assets under management and works with 2,000 independent financial service providers.

Weild was first appointed as a consultant, then in 2013 he was promoted to chief executive of the firm.

Extradition And Tax Evasion

The exposure of Weil and his activities came at the same time as the so-called "John Doe summons" by the IRS into $20bn worth of accounts at his former employer, Swiss banking giant UBS.

The investigation revealed that UBS bankers helped conceal taxable assets from US authorities.

UBS paid a $780m fine in 2009 and admitted to aiding numerous clients in tax evasion schemes.

After the scandal, the bank handed over data on 250 accounts held by US citizens and later disclosed information on another 4,450.