In wake of Credit Suisse plea, US expects 'wealth of information' leading to 'the rest of the world'
A guilty plea earlier this month by a leading Swiss bank to a charge of conspiring to aid tax evasion is expected to open the door to worldwide enforcement against Americans who sought to hide their assets.
Characterized by one tax lawyer as “a less-than-subtle message” to banks worldwide to go to the Internal Revenue Service with any guilty knowledge before the IRS comes to them, the guilty plea by Credit Suisse will be followed by records disclosure by 100 or so Swiss banks that have applied to join a DOJ amnesty program, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“We expect to get from the Swiss banks a wealth of information that will lead us to the rest of the world, and that information will be fueling our investigations for some time into the future,” Kathryn Keneally said. She is in charge of the Justice Department’s tax division.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “US Tax Probe ‘May Spread Like Wildfire’ After UBS Settlement”
ABAJournal.com: “Faced with IRS Crackdown re Offshore Bank Accounts, Some Resolve Issue by Renouncing US Citizenship”
Bloomberg News: “Credit Suisse Offers Map to 13 Swiss Banks in U.S. Tax Probe “
Chicago Tribune (opinion): “Why the Credit Suisse tax fraud deal comes up short”
