Lucifer's Banker Prologue: The Setup That Started Everything

The prologue of this book opens on a freezing January morning in 2010. Bradley Birkenfeld is sitting in a Lexus, being driven to federal prison by his older brother Doug. Outside, a snowstorm is pounding rural Pennsylvania. Inside the car, neither man has much to say.

This is post 2 in my Lucifer’s Banker Uncensored retelling series. Start with the intro if you want the full context.

The Man Who Blew the Whistle

Here is the short version. Birkenfeld was a private banker at UBS, the biggest bank in Switzerland. He was the only American on an elite team of Swiss bankers whose job was to fly around the world, wine and dine ultra-rich Americans, and convince them to stash their money in secret Swiss numbered accounts. No taxes. No questions.

He was good at it. He made UBS millions. He lived in a luxury flat in Geneva, drove a Ferrari, vacationed at his chalet in Zermatt, and partied like a character out of a James Bond movie.

But then he found out his Swiss bosses were setting him up to take the fall if anything went wrong. So he did something nobody in Swiss banking had ever done. He went to the US Department of Justice and handed them everything. Names, account numbers, the entire scheme.

The Betrayal

You would think the DOJ would roll out the red carpet. Instead, they grabbed his evidence with one hand and slapped handcuffs on him with the other.

His biggest client was Igor Olenicoff, a Russian-born billionaire with $200 million hidden in Swiss accounts. The DOJ demanded all the names. Birkenfeld gave them up. But then prosecutors charged him as a coconspirator alongside Olenicoff. They claimed he had held back Olenicoff’s name, even though Birkenfeld had already testified about him under oath before the US Senate.

Olenicoff got probation and a fine that was pocket change for a billionaire. Birkenfeld got prison.

Arriving at Schuylkill

The prologue is really a character introduction disguised as a prison surrender scene. As Doug drives through coal country, Birkenfeld looks out the window at run-down farms and rusted-out cars and thinks: these people got betrayed by their country too.

When they arrive at Schuylkill Federal Correctional Institution, a pack of news crews is already waiting. Birkenfeld tipped them off himself. He was not going quietly.

He holds a quick press conference on the public road outside the prison. Guards try to stop him. He tells them the road is federal property and invokes his First Amendment rights. They back off.

His last lawyer standing, Stephen Kohn from the National Whistleblower Center, calls the whole situation “a travesty of justice.” Kohn is convinced the government owes Birkenfeld a massive reward. Birkenfeld thinks Kohn is a dreamer.

Inside the Doors

Birkenfeld walks in, gets processed, hands over his $25,000 watch, and grins for his mugshot. The guards do not know what to make of him.

Then the twist. Instead of the minimum-security dormitory he expected, the warden sends him straight to solitary confinement. Probably payback for the press stunt outside.

Birkenfeld does not flinch. He tells the desk clerk he likes his alone time. He winks at the guard locking his cell and says, “Have a nice weekend.”

Key Takeaway

This prologue is pure setup. Birkenfeld wants you to know three things before the real story starts: he lived like a king, he gave it all up to do the right thing, and the US government punished him for it. Whether you fully buy his version of events or not, the facts are wild. The man who cracked open the biggest tax fraud scheme in history went to prison while the billionaires he exposed walked free.

The rest of the book is about how it all happened.

Book: Lucifer’s Banker Uncensored by Bradley C. Birkenfeld | ISBN: 978-1-63576-836-4

Previous: Introduction to the Series Next up: Chapter 1 - Making the Cut

Part of the Lucifer’s Banker Uncensored series