TWO NEW SWISS BANKS REACH JUSTICE AGREEMENT On June 19th, 2015, the Department of Justice (DOJ) came to an agreement under the Swiss Bank Program with two new Swiss banks, Bank Linth LLB AG and Bank Sparhafen Zurich AG. BANK LINTH 126 U.S.-related accounts are attributed to Bank Linth Bank… – Continue reading
Switzerland and the EU have signed a major accord to automatically exchange information on the financial accounts of each other’s residents. EU taxpayers will no longer be able to hide undeclared funds in Swiss banks. After coming up to increased international pressure in recent years, Switzerland has signed up to… – Continue reading
Jakarta, GIVnews.com – The Indonesian government is mulling over a tax amnesty plan that is projected to add billions of dollars to the state’s tax revenue. This huge amount of money, if realized, could help boost development and government spending in a country which have recently undergone its slowest economic… – Continue reading
Swiss Poised To Support Greek Tax Amnesty by Matthew Allen, swissinfo.ch Struggling to pay off more than €300 billion (CHF313 billion) in debts, Greece is banking on Switzerland to help it recover a treasure trove of undeclared assets that tax cheats have stashed in alpine vaults. But anti-tax haven campaigners… – Continue reading
Lopez Valdes clarifies that only information given by state bodies The implications of the Law Enforcement Tax Accounts Abroad (FATCA for its acronym in English) adopted by the United States in March 2010, has generated unrest globally, because that nation imposes conditionalities that violate laws local. That legislation provides, among… – Continue reading
GENEVA: Athens wants a tax amnesty deal for Greeks who have stashed cash in Swiss banks, in a bid to bring much-needed revenue to the debt-laden country, a Swiss newspaper reported Sunday. The government in crisis-hit Greece, where citizens were voting Sunday in a vital referendum on EU-imposed austerity measures,… – Continue reading
When the HSBC Holdings plc (ADR) (NYSE:HSBC) (LON:HSBA) Swiss leaks story broke the big shock was that someone had produced evidence, not that one of Switzerland’s notoriously secretive banks had helped people evade taxes. We know that trillions are stashed away in tax havens around the world (the ICIJ estimates… – Continue reading
Regulatory snags have once again delayed Tupelo’s BancorpSouth Inc. acquisitions of Ouachita Bancshares Corp. of Monrore, La., and Central Community Corp. of Temple, Tex. Meanwhile, Tupelo’s Renasant Bank has completed its takeover of Heritage Financial Group Inc., a bank holding company headquartered in Albany, Ga. and the parent of the… – Continue reading
A series of recent federal enforcement actions targeting weaknesses in financial institutions’ Bank Secrecy Act/anti–money laundering (BSA/AML) compliance programs continued on June 15, when the Department of Justice (DOJ), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced a coordinated enforcement against West Virginia’s Bank of Mingo…. – Continue reading
Swiss banks have long been seen as ‘safe havens’ for parking funds by Indians and other foreign nationals, but global pressure has been mounting in recent years on Switzerland to clamp down on their secrecy walls. Facing possible criminal action by India and some other nations over suspected black money,… – Continue reading
A series of recent federal enforcement actions targeting weaknesses in financial institutions’ Bank Secrecy Act/anti–money laundering (BSA/AML) compliance programs continued on June 15, when the Department of Justice (DOJ), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced a coordinated enforcement against West Virginia’s Bank of Mingo…. – Continue reading
Switzerland’s private banks are close to ridding themselves of undeclared European accounts, a salutary process but one which has undermined efforts to grow their businesses. Following the financial crisis, cash-strapped governments chased accounts hidden at banks in Zurich, Geneva and Ticino where wealthy Europeans had taken advantage of Switzerland’s famous… – Continue reading
The Swiss Federal Council is to postpone a planned overhaul of the withholding tax (WHT) system and re-examine the appropriateness of the reforms at a later date, reports Tax News. In Switzerland, WHT is levied on interest, participation income, lottery winnings, and certain insurance benefits. It is collected from the… – Continue reading
YEREVAN. – Armenia has renewed a treaty to exempt double taxation with Belarus during the Cabinet’s meeting on Thursday. In particular, the treaty envisages regulation of the residency of legal entities in the case of dual residency. The procedure for the exchange of information constituting bank secrecy has been specified…. – Continue reading
Tax Authority chief Moshe Asher: Banking secrecy is over. Another wave of arrests of Israelis with unreported overseas bank accounts and money is expected. In the coming day, Israelis who have not filled out forms sent to them by the Israel Tax Authority for declaring their assets will be summoned… – Continue reading
Tax Authority chief Moshe Asher: Banking secrecy is over. Another wave of arrests of Israelis with unreported overseas bank accounts and money is expected. In the coming day, Israelis who have not filled out forms sent to them by the Israel Tax Authority for declaring their assets will be summoned… – Continue reading
The banks which attracted tax evaders can no longer continue in this pattern because the era of banking secrecy is over and an era of transparency has begun.” Jacque de Saussure, Chairman of Banque Pictet & Cie An increasingly complex regulatory environment combined with growing clients demands for transparency and… – Continue reading
Swiss banks that aren’t dependent on the country’s crumbling financial secrecy laws may find international expansion easier than those that sold hidden accounts in the past, according to Switzerland’s financial supervisor. “The shift away from businesses which rely on some elements of banking secrecy is changing the perception” of Swiss… – Continue reading
FORMER Tinian Sen. David M. Cing, one of the proponents of the Tinian casino initiative, said the troubles facing Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino did not occur overnight and are now “killing us here.” Recently, a $75 million in civil fine was imposed by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial… – Continue reading
Switzerland’s government wants banks to toughen up checks to avoid accepting untaxed assets, possibly including a refusal to do business with a client who can’t show the money has been regularized, reports Bloomberg. For clients from countries that aren’t covered by automatic exchange of information agreements, banks will need to… – Continue reading
Amid a global black money crackdown including by India, Switzerland has announced a stringent due diligence regime for its banks to “reject” accepting illicit funds from both existing and new customers. Swiss banks, known for their strict secrecy practices, would also terminate ties with existing clients who are found to… – Continue reading
BERNE: Amid a global black money crackdown including by India, Switzerland has announced a stringent due diligence regime for its banks to ‘reject’ accepting illicit funds from both existing and new customers. Swiss banks, known for their strict secrecy practices, would also terminate relationships with existing clients who are found… – Continue reading
There’s been a preliminary investigation into the amount of money that secret bank accounts Belgians have in Switzerland can yield for the Belgian treasury. It turns out the answer is EUR 540 million. Finance Minister Johan Van Overtveldt (Flemish Nationalists) revealed the figures to financial newspaper De Tijd. “However, the… – Continue reading
In its report issued in May 2015, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned against the exceptional risks and challenges facing Lebanon as a result of several political and security factors both at the domestic and foreign levels. These challenges also result from worrying economic factors in terms of growth, the… – Continue reading
With the Swiss government signing a landmark Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) agreement with the European Union (EU) last week, efforts are underway for a similar bilateral pact with India. The effort, which is expected to provide a strong impetus to the Narendra Modi government’s pitch to combat the black… – Continue reading
Berne: Continuing to shed its famed banking secrecy veil, Switzerland today made public more names about which it had been approached from abroad for information, even as it published fresh gazette notifications about two Indians – Sayed Mohammed Masood and Chand Kauser Mohammed Masood. Switzerland has already shared some details… – Continue reading
Luxembourg’s neighbour Belgium is to officially list the country as a tax haven, local media report, based on its non-compliant status with the OECD’s Global Forum. All countries that have been on the OECD’s list of fiscal paradises need blacklisted in Belgium, the law stipulates. This also includes Luxembourg, which… – Continue reading
In December 2014, the Swiss parliament—giving in to international pressure—passed new laws to tighten its anti-money-laundering regulations, most prominently the freezing of assets in Swiss bank accounts. It also increases watch over politicians and officials such as those arrested in the FIFA scandal, by defining them as PEP—Politically Exposed Persons… – Continue reading
Governing and opposition MPs submitted a bill to the Hungarian Parliament yesterday that would amend legislation on the state-owned Hungarian Development Bank (MFB) to exempt a broader range of its dealings with failed brokerage Quaestor from rules on banking secrecy. The bill was designed to broaden the scope of data… – Continue reading
State Street Corp. was ordered by regulators to revamp its compliance programs after deficiencies were found related to internal controls, customer due-diligence procedures and transaction monitoring. The Boston-based bank had warned last month that it would likely face a public enforcement action from the Federal Reserve and Massachusetts Division of… – Continue reading
The European Union and Switzerland signed a bilateral agreement on the automatic exchange of financial information on Wednesday morning, reports Ahram Online. According to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), a major Swiss newspaper, the agreement commits both parties to collect information on banking accounts starting in 2017 and exchanging this… – Continue reading
Irish citizens holding bank accounts in Switzerland will no longer be able to avail of the traditional secrecy pertaining to Swiss bank accounts, MEP Marian Harkin has said. The European Commission and Switzerland this week signed an agreement that is intended to clamp down on tax evasion. Both sides will… – Continue reading
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has announced that four Swiss banks have reached a resolution with the Government under the DoJ Tax Division’s regularization program. The DoJ’s Swiss Bank Program was signed by the two countries on August 29, 2013. It provides a framework for Swiss banks that were… – Continue reading
The Swiss government and hundreds of Swiss banks have been roiled by the U.S. crackdown on American tax evaders. With six years of almost non-stop hits to the country and its bankers, it may be no surprise that now Switzerland is publishing the names of foreign tax evaders. Some observers… – Continue reading
After Switzerland initiated measures to regulate its banks, most of the unaccounted money stashed in Swiss banks is suspected to have been diverted to countries like Mauritius and Singapore. The Special Investigation Team on black money has taken cognisance of the issue raised by the enforcement agencies. “Although the Swiss… – Continue reading
Bern, Switzerland: As India tries to uncover who has stashed untaxed money abroad, Switzerland is, in an unusual deviation from its super-secretive banking rules, releasing the names of people who are being investigated for alleged tax evasion in their countries of origin. Among the seven Indians named so far by… – Continue reading
Switzerland and the European Union have signed an agreement providing for the automatic exchange of banking information, effective 2018. On Wednesday, Swiss State Secretary for International Financial Matters Jacques de Watteville signed the accord in Brussels along with EU Tax Commissioner Pierre Moscovici and Latvian Finance Minister Janis Reirs. Before… – Continue reading
Switzerland has begun online publication of names of foreigners and foreign firms wanted in tax probes by their countries of origin, including Germany. American citizens are identified only by their initials. The Swiss Sunday newspaper “Sonntagszeitung” said the alpine nation was flooded with formal tracing requests from foreign tax authorities…. – Continue reading
Short cuts, loopholes and other forms of skulduggery will not be tolerated when the automatic exchange of tax information comes into force, a top official from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has promised Swiss bankers, reports FinFacts. Grace Perez-Navarro, second in command at the OECD’s tax policy… – Continue reading
“We will have a black money discussion (with finance minister Arun Jaitley) to solve and clarify (the issue),” said Swiss economic affairs minister. Amid India enacting a law to deal with the menace of black money stashed abroad, Switzerland on Friday said that it is considering amendments in its domestic… – Continue reading
Short cuts, loopholes and other forms of skulduggery will not be tolerated when the automatic exchange of tax information comes into force, a top official from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has promised Swiss bankers, reports Swiss Info. Grace Perez-Navarro, second in command at the OECD’s tax… – Continue reading
Switzerland’s banks will benefit from the global crackdown on tax avoidance, the president of the country’s association of foreign banks and head of HSBC’s (HSBA.L) Swiss private banking arm said on Tuesday, reports Reuters. The Alpine nation famed for its banking secrecy is bowing to international pressure by committing to… – Continue reading
Introduction The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum) decided in mid-March 2015 that Switzerland should enter Phase 2 of the Peer Review. This decision represents a clear statement by the OECD that Switzerland’s legal and regulatory framework for information exchange complies with internationally… – Continue reading
Major G20 tax event in Istanbul hears claims that fighting tax scams is ‘vital issue’ for developing nations ISTANBUL Fighting tax evasion is like fighting international terror, Turkey’s finance minister has claimed. Mehmet Simsek was speaking at an international G20 tax event in Istanbul on Thursday where he said that… – Continue reading
FinCEN announced on Monday that it is fining Ripple Labs, Inc., the creator of XRP, for selling XRP without first registering as a money services business and failing to implement and maintain adequate anti-money laundering provisions. These violations fall under the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970. In a press release… – Continue reading
In retrospect, HSBC’s decision in 1993 to abandon Hong Kong for London’s Canary Wharf was one of modern history’s worst business moves. It seemed perfectly wise at the time, just four years ahead of Hong Kong’s return to China and amid the early stages of Europe’s common currency boom. When… – Continue reading
GENEVA, May 4 (Xinhua) — Thousands of accounts which have remained untouched for 50 years and which were opened before 1955 are being checked by Swiss banking establishments, according to an article published by German newspaper Welt am Sonntag on Monday. A Swiss Banking Association spokesperson confirmed the report, stressing… – Continue reading
On April 21, 2015, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a Geographic Targeting Order (“GTO”) lowering reporting thresholds and triggering additional recordkeeping requirements for certain financial transactions in a move that is likely to have effects far beyond the 700 Miami-based electronics exporters that are specifically… – Continue reading
Bradley Birkenfeld, the former UBS employee who helped bring down Swiss banking secrecy, has explained to Swiss public television SRF why he blew the whistle on the bank’s tax evasion violations in the United States. Birkenfeld claims he was pushed into the action by the discovery of an internal document… – Continue reading
Bradley Birkenfeld was released from federal prison in August 2012 after serving 2½ years for his role as a Swiss banker hiding millions of dollars for wealthy American clients. Five weeks later, he found himself in the kitchen of a small rental house in Raymond, New Hampshire. At that moment,… – Continue reading
