News & Events

When banks are suspected of wrongdoing, it is common for the financial institutions to settle the case with the Department of Justice by paying fines and entering into deferred prosecution agreements.  Commerzbank AG recently became one of the latest banks to settle a criminal case.  Between fines and the money the bank agreed to forfeit, the bank ended up paying a total of $1.45 billion to resolve its criminal allegations.  

Reporting money in offshore accounts is required. Investors must file a Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR) with the Treasury Department each year. Failure to file reports and pay income taxes on offshore investments can lead to financial penalties. It can also lead to criminal penal-ties. Just recently, the CEO of Circlenet LLC was sentenced to four months in a federal prison for not filing his reports and concealing income. 

The effort to fight against tax evasion is a global one. Not only have countries joined together to require the reporting of offshore accounts but taxing authorities throughout the world are also conducting their own independent investigations against banks that facilitate tax evasion.  UBS AG, in particular, has been targeted by multiple countries. The United States launched a full-scale investigation of the bank and settled the case back in 2009. Now, France is also conducting an investigation into the same bank.

On February 18, federal prosecutors filed a superseding indictment against three former employees of Wegelin & Co, alleging that the employees participated in a conspiracy to help customers evade taxes and conceal assets.  This action is far from the first that has been taken in connection with tax evasion involving Wegelin & Co.  In fact, prior legal sanctions imposed by U.S. authorities actually caused Wegelin & Co. to close in 2013.