FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla./ZURICH (Reuters) - Ex-UBS banker Bradley Birkenfeld, a whistleblower in a tax fraud case involving the Swiss bank for which he was awarded $104 million (67 million pounds) after serving more than two years in prison, has lodged a request to be allowed to return to Europe.

U.S. tax authorities awarded Birkenfeld a nine-figure payout in 2012 under an Internal Revenue Service whistleblower programme, after his tips led Swiss bank UBS to settle with U.S. regulators in 2009 for $780 million in fines, penalties, interest and restitution.