According to a recent statement by the Liechtenstein government, the country has agreed to work with the UK authorities for ensuring the tax compliance of British clients. The deal, signed by the two countries on Tuesday, will facilitate the recovery of lost tax from Britons who hold bank accounts in Liechtenstein.

Though the agreement will allow HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the Alpine tax haven to exchange of information - pertaining to the nearly 5,000 British investors who have an estimated £3 billion in secret accounts in Liechtenstein -, there will be no transfer of client data out of Liechtenstein.

Commenting on the deal with the UK, Liechtenstein Prime Minister Klaus Tschuetscher said: "With this agreement we are creating a stable and reliable regulatory framework and for the client the possibility to make use of an attractive option. Where the effectiveness of international cooperation in tax matters through OECD standard solutions reaches a limit, we pursued a tailor-made approach - one that ensures legal certainty and helps bridging the individual interests involved."

The deal, laying down special conditions between 2010 and 2105 for persuading the self-declaration of clients of Liechtenstein's financial service industry with tax arrears in the UK, offers investors the opportunity to submit their deposits' details and pay penalties up to a maximum of 10 percent of tax evaded during the past decade.