A major Israeli international bank admitted that it conspired to aid and assist U.S. taxpayers to prepare and present false tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by hiding income and assets in offshore bank...more
On December 9, 2014, Singapore’s Inland Revenue Authority announced that Singapore and the United States had on that day entered into a Model 1 FATCA IGA. ...more
On December 1, 2014, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that countries that have reached FATCA inter-governmental agreements (IGAs) in substance but have not signed the agreements by the December 31 deadline will, under...more
On November 13, 2014, Hong Kong announced that it had signed a Model 2 FATCA IGA. Under the agreement Hong Kong financial institutions will enter into separate FFI agreements with the IRS and will report information on U.S....more
On October 27, 2014, FinCEN ruled in response to a Request for Administrative Ruling that a company that converts traditional currencies into Bitcoin to facilitate payments must comply with regulations that govern Money...more
On October 20, 2014, Menashe Cohen pleaded guilty in New Hampshire federal court to one count of filing a false income tax return for failing to report the existence of his Swiss and Israeli bank accounts on his 2009 tax...more
On October 8, 2014, Swiss officials announced that they intend to negotiate a reciprocal Model 1 FATCA IGA to replace the Model 2 IGA that they signed in 2013. The motivation for the change is unknown, but the automatic...more
On October 3, 2014, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office press release and court records, Howard Bloomberg, a forensic accountant and certified fraud examiner, pleaded guilty to one count of failure to file an FBAR reporting...more
Reuters is reporting that Bank Julius Baer is cooperating with French authorities in their criminal investigation into an alleged value-added-tax (“VAT”) fraud in the EU Emissions Trading System. ...more
On August 19, 2014, Bernard Kramer pleaded guilty in the Southern District of New York to conspiracy to defraud the United States and filing a false income tax return relating to his concealment of “at least $1.1 million” in...more
On July 30, 2014, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) proposed rules requiring U.S. financial institutions to collect “Customer Due Diligence” information, including identifying the true...more
On June 26, 2014, China and the United States agreed on a Model 1 FATCA IGA. The Treasury did not say whether the agreement would be reciprocal. The IGA comes just in time for the July 1 start of 30 percent withholding on...more
Former DOJ Tax Division AAG Kathy Keneally warned on June 24, 2014, that taxpayers should think carefully before signing a certification of non-willfulness and entering the IRS’s new Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures....more
On June 18, 2014, the IRS announced major changes to the OVDP, including a major expansion of the so-called Streamlined Program and an increased penalties for taxpayers who held accounts at banks that are under criminal...more
On May 9, 2014, the U.S. Treasury announced that Hong Kong had agreed in substance on a Model 2 FATCA IGA. Under the IGA, Hong Kong financial institutions will report information on financial accounts held by U.S. persons...more
Bloomberg BNA reported on May 9, 2014, that Swisspartners Group resolved a U.S. criminal tax probe by forfeiting $3.5 million and paying $900,000 in restitution for helping U.S. clients evade taxes with secret accounts. ...more
On May 6, 2014, the Ministry of Finance of Singapore announced that Singapore had agreed in substance on a Model 1 FATCA IGA. Under the IGA, Singapore-based financial institutions will report information on financial accounts...more
Bloomberg BNA is reporting that Israel has signed a FATCA IGA. The agreement is a Model 1 agreement, meaning that Israeli financial institutions will will report information about U.S. customers’ accounts to the Israeli tax...more
On April 30, 2014, a federal grand jury in Los Angeles, California, indicted Shokrollah Baravarian for Klein conspiracy: conspiracy to defraud the United States by impairing and impeding the IRS.
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On April 30, 2014, Josef Dorig, 72, of Switzerland, pleaded guilty in federal district court in Alexandria, Virginia, to a single count of Klein conspiracy: conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by impairing and impeding the IRS....more
The U.S. Treasury announced that on April 11, 2014, India agreed “in substance” to sign a Model 1 FATCA IGA with the US. The IGA would therefore require Indian financial institutions to report information on U.S. account...more
On March 28, 2014, the U.S. signed a FATCA IGA with Luxembourg. Under the IGA, banks and other financial institutions in Luxembourg will report information about eligible U.S. customers’ offshore accounts to the Luxembourg...more
Bloomberg news reports that on March 18, 2014, U.S. Senators Carl Levin and John McCain wrote a letter urging the Justice Department to seek extradition of about 30 Swiss bankers and others who are charged with enabling...more
On February 13, 2014, the OECD published a standard for the automatic exchange of tax information among governments, intended to help fight cross-border tax evasion. Under the standard, governments would collect information...more
Multiple outlets are reporting that on February 26, 2014, Martin Lack, a Swiss investment adviser and former UBS banker, will plead guilty in the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United...more