Arrests made in Brazil tax probe

Investigators say the fraud may have totalled more than $500m

Brazilian police have arrested 19 people, including an employee of the Swiss bank UBS, in an investigation into alleged money laundering.

The arrests, following raids at 44 sites, are part of a probe into claims that Brazilian firms avoided tax by laundering money though foreign banks.

A Brazilian judge said UBS, Credit Suisse and US insurance giant AIG were among those under investigation.

Investigators said the alleged fraud had cost the country more than $500m.

'Cash transfers'

They said they had tracked illegal monthly cash transfers by Brazilian companies into Swiss bank accounts of up to $4m over the past 18 months.

It is alleged the companies concerned used the money secreted overseas to buy goods from US and China for export to Brazil.

UBS confirmed that an unnamed employee had been detained, adding that it was trying to establish the reason for the arrest.

AIG said it was "not aware of any wrongdoing by any private bank employee" while Credit Suisse has not commented on the allegations.

None of those detained has been charged. The authorities are seeking the arrest of another foreign national currently outside the country.

Last month, police raided offices of the US IT firm Cisco Systems in Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro in connection with the same investigation.

Four employees were arrested and subsequently released. Cisco has denied any wrongdoing.