Canada’s government hopes to persuade UBS to hand over the names of Canadian clients suspected of tax evasion but it may sue the Swiss bank to get the list if negotiations fail, a top minister has said, according to Reuters.

Canada has been in talks with the Zurich-listed bank and wealth management giant since last September. Its talks come in the wake of a deal by the US and Swiss governments under which, as part of a civil case, UBS will hand over account details on up to 4,450 people. In a separate, criminal case last year, UBS agreed to pay a $780 million fine to settle charges it helped wealthy US citizens evade taxes.

Revenue minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn repeated a threat to sue the bank if necessary to compel it to provide the information.

"We still keep the focus on discussing with them to obtain this list on a voluntary basis," Mr Blackburn told reporters.

"If we do not, we will still go ahead with the court possibility to obtain that list," he was reported to have said.

His comments underscore the fact that other countries and banks besides UBS could become involved in any attempts by governments to crack down on offshore bank accounts. Governments, such as those of the UK and US, are eager for funds to plug massive budgetary black holes.

So far, 96 Canadian UBS clients have volunteered to come clean with Canada. Of those, 32 have reached settlements, resulting in C$25 million ($24 million) in recovered taxes, Mr Blackburn said.

Mr Blackburn also has a list of 110 names of people who allegedly used the trading arm of the country's top bank, Royal Bank of Canada, to avoid taxes by setting up accounts in Liechtenstein.

The minister is in Europe this week to meet with his counterparts from Britain, Germany and France as well as with tax policy experts at the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), headquartered in Paris.