UBS turns over 70 client names to U.S. govt -paper

ZURICH, Nov 10 (Reuters) - UBS, the world's largest bank to the rich, has passed on information about 70 clients to U.S. authorities investigating tax evasion, a move that may undermine Switzerland's prized bank secrecy, the Washington Post reported.

UBS (UBSN.VX) was responding to a Justice Department request for information on Americans who held "undeclared" accounts at the bank in Switzerland, the U.S. paper said on its website, citing an unnamed source close to the case.

The U.S. tax investigation has compounded damage to UBS's reputation at a time it has been forced to make bigger writedowns than any other European bank in the credit crisis.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating UBS over offshore services provided to U.S. clients from 2000 to 2007 to find out whether UBS helped wealthy Americans to dodge taxes.

The Swiss bank was singled out by U.S. President-elect Barak Obama as one of the banks who helped "tax cheats". It decided earlier this year to stop offering offshore Swiss bank accounts to U.S. citizens.

Meanwhile, the Swiss government is facing increasing pressure from neighbouring Germany and other EU countries to give up on its tradition of closely guarding details of its bank clients.

UBS turned had over the 70 client names to the U.S. government over recent months, the Washington Post also said.

The paper added that criminal investigators had obtained the names of an additional 30 U.S. holders of undeclared UBS accounts from other parties.

UBS, the Swiss Finance Ministry and the U.S. Justice Department were not immediately available to comment.

A Swiss newspaper reported last month that the Swiss authorities had given 250 U.S. clients of UBS 30 days to appeal against their names being handed over to the United States. UBS declined to comment on that report. (Reporting by Lisa Jucca, additional reporting by Martha Graybow, editing by Will Waterman)