Raoul Weil, former head of wealth management at UBS, goes to trial in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, today, for allegedly helping wealthy US citizens evade millions in taxes through the use of Swiss bank accounts, Bloomberg has reported.

Raoul Weil, former head of wealth management at UBS, goes on trial today in Fort Lauderdale, FL, for allegedly helping wealthy US citizens evade millions in taxes through the use of Swiss bank accounts, Bloomberg has reported.

Weil was charged by US authorities in 2008 but continued to live and work in Switzerland which does not extradite its citizens in tax cases. An international arrest warrant for Weil was made in early 2009, months after he was charged for allegedly conspiring to help 17,000 American clients of Swiss bank UBS avoid taxes.

After going on a business trip to Italy last year, he was extradited to the US after being on the run for five years. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison for conspiracy to commit tax fraud as well as a hefty fine.

Following his extradition, he pleaded not guilty and was freed on $10.5 million bail in December.

"We are preparing diligently for trial," Weil's New York-based attorney Aaron Marcu was reported as saying.

In recent years, the US government has stepped up its pursuit of Swiss banks that have helped clients evade taxes

Last year, the US and Swiss governments signed an accord under which Swiss banks can state whether they have, or have not, violated US laws on tax.

US authorities are also currently investigating 14 Swiss banks to determine whether they were involved in helping thousands of US citizens evade paying their taxes.

In 2009, UBS agreed pay $780 million and turn over some client names to settle allegations that it aided tax evasion in the US, while earlier this year, Credit Suisse pleaded guilty to conspiracy to help US citizens evade taxes and agreed to pay a $2.815 billion settlement with US authorities.