It's oft repeated here by friends of tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions that the world I describe and the world Nick Shaxson describes is out iof date and that offshore tax fraud no longer exists.
We know that is not true. New indictments of people alleged to be Credit Suisse bankers in the US seem to prove it. As the FT reports:
US prosecutors have expanded their investigation into offshore tax havens to include Credit Suisse and announced criminal charges against four bankers who allegedly conspired to help US citizens evade paying taxes for decades, according to court documents and a person familiar with the matter.
A criminal indictment against the four bankers alleges that they worked at an international Swiss bank, which people familiar with the matter confirm is Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors allege the bank maintained thousands of secret accounts holding $3bn in untaxed assets. The conspiracy dates back to 1953 and involves two generations of US clients, including some who inherited secret accounts, the indictment alleges.
Arrest warrants have been issued for the bankers but none are in custody. They could not be reached for comment.
The indictment alleges the four bankers helped 17 US clients evade paying taxes by setting up offshore accounts and helping conceal their transactions through credit and debit cards linked to those accounts. On three occasions, one banker allegedly sent bank cheques to clients using a shipping company to avoid detection.
The allegations suggest this continued until 2008.
The laundromat keeps on churning. That's the reality that's alleged. That's what's still happening.
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Yes the banks are (often) the source of the problem — but they also need to employ support services like external auditors (RBS is Deloitte’s largest international client). And then there are the regulatory bodies and trade associations(ICAEW) … all of who know (or should know) exactly what is going on.
It is a huge conspiracy involving corruption on a massive scale — and it is also taking place on three small islands just of the UK coast.
Boycott the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey until their governments behave responsibly.
Richard
I for one don’t say that tax evasion isn’t still going on offshore. My beef with what is claimed by Nick Shaxson and yourself is that you both infer that is CURRENTLY endemic in the Crown Dependencies. It is not. Of course Switzerland is riddled with it, likewise Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Singapore. That’s what comes of high levels of statutory bank secrecy.
This latest news items is all about Credit Suisse and Switzerland. Just like the UBS case. There are numerous other Swiss bankers who will rightly be crapping themselves.
PSG
Your post seems to have found completely the wrong thread. It has absolutely no correlation to the article.
@Rupert
Oh silly me
It’s everywhere by the Crown Dependencies
Now why didn’t I realise that?
Or alternatively – please don’t treat us as if we’re stuopid
Richard – Perhaps I can add further background information here. At one time, funds could be moved offshore without too many questions being asked and tax-free cash could then be repatriated to the UK. The more recent money laundering and compliance requirements made this difficult to achieve for those with perhaps £250,000 to move offshore.
For those with a seven figure sum there is still a thriving industry but the set up costs are high – usually 10% of the capital to be invested and with on-going charges of about 1% pa but this is much more cost effective than paying higher rate tax.
For those with 8 figure sums or more, facilitators rush out of the woodwork to help – complete with QC’s Opinion, at a cost!
I used to work with specialist barristers who handled such issues and after researching a complex case, I submitted my consulting invoice and was amused to see that I was paid with a cheque from a BVI based bank. Need I say more!