The Internal Revenue Service disclosed final rules set for publication next week that will clarify how and when informants can collect rewards for identifying tax cheats, but not money launderers.
The Holy See hired Swiss lawyer Rene Bruelhart to help bolster the city-state's AML controls, Liechtenstein is weighing whether to enter a withholding tax agreement with Germany, and more, in the midweek roundup.
A U.S. lawmaker is questioning an IRS decision not to reward whistleblowers who disclose potential violations of Bank Secrecy Act reporting requirements tied to accounts held at foreign financial institutions.
The effect of a planned whistleblower program expected to have an impact on anti-money laundering compliance departments will likely be mitigated by low funding and other issues, say consultants.
In the wake of the recession, compliance departments are grappling with implementing more regulations with fewer resources, a former bank regulator says.
U.S. and Canadian banks are among the over 260 companies asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to reconsider a new federal whistleblower program they say will undermine internal reporting controls.
U.S. tax authorities and a Senate investigatory team are looking into reports that the Cayman Islands branch of Bank Julius Baer helped American accountholders hide taxable revenue, according to the former chief of the bank's Caribbean operations.
A provision in the Senate's proposed financial overhaul bill could incentivize more anti-money laundering compliance officers to blow the whistle on any illegal activities of their employers in exchange for large payouts.
Former Bank COO Rudolph Elmer, who has been sued by Julius Baer for allegedly leaking hundreds of the bank's documents suggesting a systemic laxity toward tax evasion and money laundering, said the Swiss laws allow institutions to hide their criminal support for white collar criminals.
Bank Julius Baers sued Wikileaks.org, claiming the organizations violated bank privacy laws by publishing hundreds of documents online that detail the private accounts of bank clients. The documents purportedly show evidence of money laundering and fraud through an offshore branch of the bank.
For a whistleblower program to be effective, employees have to believe that any action they take will produce results and that they will be protected from retaliation, experts say.