UBS agrees to name depositors

"The parties have initialed agreements," Justice Department attorney Stuart Gibson said Wednesday.

While the Swiss government and UBS officials have been negotiating on the disclosure issue, many U.S. depositors have approached the Internal Revenue Service asking for leniency in their cases, anticipating the bank would be forced to reveal names, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The Justice Department suspects 52,000 or more U.S. citizens have hidden assets in the Swiss bank.

In February, UBS agreed to pay a $780 million fine for assisting tax dodgers. Soon after the case was settled, the Justice Department filed a civil suit to force the bank to reveal names of depositors, some of whom are suspected of stashing hundreds of millions of dollars in UBS accounts.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.