Bank J. Safra Sarasin AG allegedly helped to facilitate tax evasion by U.S. citizens. The Swiss bank helped U.S. clients title their offshore accounts in the names of Panama corporations and it falsely signed IRS forms certifying these accounts were owned by Panama entities so U.S. taxpayers wouldn't have to report them. The bank also helped set up nominee entities for U.S.-connected accounts which were undeclared. When the bank came under suspicion for these and other efforts at aiding in tax evasion, it helped U.S.-connected accountholders transfer money to other offshore banks in Israel, Liechtenstein and Hong Kong.
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Archive by Month: March 2016
If you had money offshore and didn't file annual Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs), you could find yourself facing penalties imposed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Banks are cooperating with the IRS and giving detailed account information about people with offshore funds. If the IRS determines you failed to follow the rules for reporting offshore accounts and paying taxes on income, there's the potential for criminal consequences.
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