According to Trib Live “more than half the world’s money passes almost undetected through a series of financial black holes that shelter it from not only the tax collector but form shareholders, partners and wives.”

Bank Leumi is the second largest bank in Israel. The bank allegedly helped American investors avoid their income tax obligations by structuring sham loan arrangements with investors. The “loan” arrangements would allow investors to avoid paying the amount of taxes that they owe to the U.S. government, but they would still have access to their funds.

The U.S. government is determined to stop tax evasion and they are doing so by going after banks and bankers. Unfortunately for the clients of those bankers, many are willing to turn over information on their clients as part of plea deals to avoid jail time or lessen their personal consequences.  Some banks have already paid huge fines and some bankers are already on trial.

United States authorities have prosecuted around three dozen foreign bankers and have arrested more financial professionals for helping U.S. citizens evade their income tax obligations. One of the individuals who was arrested was the former head of UBS’s wealth management for the Americas.

In 2010, the US Congress passed a law attempting to address the problem of US residents being encouraged to move money offshore to avoid tax obligations. Foreign investment companies and foreign banks were profiting from this activity.  The solution is called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), and it went into effect in July of 2014.