News
Tax Evasion, Asset Recovery Likely to Be Most Common MLAT Requests of Foreign Countries
By Brian Monroe
printInformation on tax evasion and asset recovery cases will likely top data-sharing requests filed by foreign governments with the United States over the next three to five years, say analysts. The shift comes as the number of overall requests from foreign countries under mutual legal assistance treaties (MLATs) has increased 26 percent in the last five years, according to U.S. Justice Department data. The treaties are used by governments to exchange information on a range of crimes, including tax evasion, money laundering and fraud. MLAT requests related to tax evasion and the recovery of lost funds could be "dominant" in...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
The price tag financial institutions will face implementing a newly-endorsed intergovernmental plan to fight tax evasion will be high despite their recent investments to comply with similar American demands.
Thirty-four nations disclosed a finalized model plan Monday to regularly share financial data for tax enforcement purposes as part of a broader crackdown on tax dodgers and offshore jurisdictions.
Proposals by California's top prosecutor to strengthen the state's anti-money laundering laws are expected to find broad support among lawmakers.
An influential Senate subcommittee will hear testimony on tax evasion through offshore banks, Switzerland agrees to follow automatic data exchange standards and more, in this week's news roundup.
The U.S. Justice Department seizes digital funds tied to an Internet black market, Republicans line up behind effort to fight FATCA and more, in this week's news roundup.
China prohibits the trading of bitcoins by financial institutions over money laundering concerns, the U.K. closes 100 suspicious Bank of Cyprus accounts, and more, in this week's news roundup.
Financial trade groups are asking the U.S. Treasury Department for more time to comply with intergovernmental agreements intended to shine a light on bank accounts held by American tax dodgers.
A Geneva court's ruling clearing the way for bankers to know whether their employers have identified them to American investigators threatens to complicate a negotiated U.S.-Swiss tax deal, say sources.
Attorneys for a Florida couple accused of selling black-market medical devices argued before the Supreme Court Wednesday that the government's power to freeze the assets of defendants should be further limited.
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service's criminal division will open more investigations into members of an anti-government group that refuse to pay income tax, according to a senior agency official.
An expected agreement between the United Kingdom and Switzerland to tax half of the income of Britons keeping undeclared assets in Swiss bank accounts is a significant step backward in the fight against bank secrecy, say tax reform advocates.
Advocacy groups and developing countries are lobbying the United Nations to bolster its role in fighting tax crimes following disappointments with the efforts of an intergovernmental group representing wealthy nations.
U.S. banks will face additional freeze orders and banking data requests from federal prosecutors when a new asset-freezing measure adopted Wednesday by U.S. lawmakers takes effect next year, say analysts.
An IRS personnel reshuffle designed to combat offshore tax evasion coincides with an influx of over 800 new employees and will facilitate enforcement of a controversial tax law beginning in 2013, say analysts.
Lawmakers proposed a measure Wednesday that would potentially prohibit banks from processing credit card transactions for merchants and maintaining correspondent accounts for financial institutions deemed vulnerable to money laundering and tax evasion.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Council of Europe agreed Tuesday to an updated tax data sharing agreement signed by 14 countries, including the United States.
An influential international anti-money laundering group may request that its members pass legislation tying tax evasion to money laundering as part of an effort to to pierce Swiss bank secrecy.
International efforts to crack down on bank secrecy abuse remain stymied, with few tax evaders opting to move their money out of traditional European and offshore tax havens, according to analysts.
A proposed rule that would empower foreign and U.S. state and local law enforcement agencies to make information requests under a provision of the Patriot Act is meeting stiff resistance from banks and has raised concerns within the law enforcement community.
The United States is "very weak" in retrieving assets lost abroad to criminals, and should make better use of international treaties designed to aid asset recovery, according to the head of a company that helps investigate lost funds.