Swiss banking giant UBS AG has agreed to pay $780 million and identify certain US clients in a deal to resolve criminal fraud charges that it assisted rich Americans to evade taxes.

The settlement announced on Wednesday further cracks Switzerland's trademark bank account secrecy and could expose some UBS customers to Internal Revenue Service scrutiny and law enforcement action.

Justice Department officials said Switzerland's largest bank had entered what is known as a deferred prosecution agreement on charges of conspiring to defraud the United States by impeding the IRS, the US tax collection agency.

Officials described the agreement as one of the biggest settlements ever. It eclipses a $456 million pact in 2005 with accounting firm KPMG over the promotion of tax shelters.

Under the settlement, UBS admitted to helping US taxpayers hide accounts from the IRS.

About 17,000 of 20,000 US cross-border clients concealed their identities and the existence of their accounts, with $20 billion in assets, from the IRS, the Justice Department said. Some of these clients are unindicted co-conspirators.

"We accept full responsibility for these improper activities," Peter Kurer, chairman of UBS, said in a statement.

The Justice Department did not say how many names of UBS clients would be filed under US court seal. But Swiss newspaper, 'Le Temps', said in an article on its website on Wednesday, that the data would involve about 250 clients.

After 18 months the US government will recommend dismissal of charges against UBS providing it honors the terms of the agreement.

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