Federal prosecutors have opened 150 grand jury investigations of offshore-banking clients, and 8 offshore banks are under federal grand jury investigation for facilitating tax evasion by U.S. citizens. The eight offshore banks from across the world weren't identified. The Justice Department disclosed the probes on a section of its website detailing the Tax Division’s Offshore Compliance Initiative.  In 2009, prosecutors charged UBS AG with aiding tax evasion by U.S. clients.  UBS avoided prosecution by paying $780 million, admitting it fostered tax evasion, and giving the U.S. Internal Revenue Service data on more than 250 accounts.  It later turned over data on another 4,450 accounts. ‘Highly Unusual’. "The fact that the department has confirmed that there are 8 grand jury investigations into offshore banks shows that the government’s enforcement efforts are a lot further along than had previously been disclosed," according to Jeffrey Neiman, a former federal prosecutor who worked on the UBS case.  Mr. Neiman, who is now in private practice in Fort Lauderdale, FL, said it’s highly unusual for the government to "trumpet" the opening of a grand jury investigation.  "What makes this public acknowledgement so peculiar is the secrecy that usually surrounds grand jury investigations," he said.  "In fact, the department is prohibited by law from speaking about matters occurring before the grand jury." Other Targets of Criminal Investigations. Credit Suisse Group AG, the second-largest Swiss bank, has said that U.S. prosecutors stated it’s a target of a criminal investigation.  And in July, indictments were handed down against 7 Credit Suisse bankers, including the former head of North American offshore banking, Markus Walder, on a charge of helping U.S. clients evade taxes through secret accounts. Since 2008, the U.S. has filed criminal tax charges against more than 3 dozen former U.S. clients of Zurich-based UBS, Credit Suisse, and London-based HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), Europe’s biggest bank. Most of those clients have pleaded guilty. On 9/4/11, SonntagsZeitung reported that Switzerland had until 9/6/11 to provide the U.S. with data as part of the Justice Department’s criminal probe into Credit Suisse. The U.S. was requesting information about accounts held by thousands of Americans in 10 banks including Credit Suisse, the Zurich-based newspaper reported, citing correspondence between Michael Ambuehl, the state secretary to the Swiss finance ministry, and James Cole, the U.S. deputy attorney general. Also among the 10 banks are HSBC, Julius Baer Group Ltd. (BAER), Wegelin & Co., Basler Kantonalbank and Zuercher Kantonalbank, a person familiar with inquiries sent to them by U.S. prosecutors said.  The person, who declined to say whether the 10 banks include those under grand jury investigation, requested anonymity because the matter isn’t public. For further details, go to:  [Bloomberg, 9/20/11].