Tax

Complaint for refund and abatement of FBAR penalty in Samuel H. Galib, who, together with his brother, "inherited their mother's account with HSBC bank in Switzerland" and later participated in the IRS' Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program v. USA at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Petition to Quash Summons regarding a tax investigation by Spain in Juan Ramon Gomis Rabassa, described as a citizen and resident of the Dominican Republic v. USA, IRS, and Banco de Sabadell SA at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Complaint for damages of £353,002 alleging professional negligence involving 'Inheritance Tax' liabilities of a trust settled by Lance Uggla, described as a "UK resident but foreign domiciled for income and capital gains tax purposes", in Apex Financial Services (Trustees) Ltd., of Jersey, in the Channel Islands v. Wiggin Osborne Fullerlove, a law firm based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, at the High Court of Justice for England and Wales.

Application by Samuel Tcherassi to take discovery from Yolanda Janna, of Miami, "for use in a foreign criminal investigation" in Colombia that "stems from a complaint filed by Henry Anaya, the president of a Colombian non-governmental organization, National Network of Citizen Observers" who requested that "the Colombian Prosecutor's Office investigate Tcherassi and Diana Janna (Tcherassi's wife)" for alleged tax offenses, filed at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

The ICIJ will discuss its ‘Pandora Papers’ investigation into financial secrecy during a free OffshoreAlert webinar this Friday. Based on “11.9 million leaked records”, the ICIJ describes the investigation as “the largest in journalism history” and says it “exposes a shadow financial system that benefits the world’s most rich and powerful”.

Chapter 15 Petition for Recognition of a Foreign Main Proceeding in Australia by Sheahan and Lock, as the Foreign Representatives of Gerobin Finances Pty Ltd., Erbin Finances Pty Limited, Rawbin Finances Pty Limited, Marbin Finances Pty Limited, Erma Nominees Pty Limited, and Ligon 158 Pty Limited, described as members of "a remarkably complex group of companies controlled and operated by, and used for the personal benefit of, the Binetter family, many of which companies have been the subject of a far-ranging tax investigation by the Australian Taxation Office", filed at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Criminal actions against six foreign nationals, a Swiss financial services firm, and a client regarding an alleged offshore tax evasion scheme known as the "Singapore Solution" involving entities in the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Liechtenstein, Panama, Singapore, and Switzerland have been unsealed at federal court in New York.

Order of Release on $80 million bond and other conditions in USA. Mark Gyetvay, the Chief Financial Officer of Russian gas producer Novatek who is apparently a citizen of Italy, Russia, and the United States, at the U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

An unidentified Swiss "wealth advisory firm" in Zurich helped Mark Gyetvay - the criminally indicted CFO of one of Russia's biggest gas producers, LSE-listed Novatek - evade taxes on over $40 million of income in a scheme also involving firms in Belize, British Virgin Islands, and Cayman Islands, it has been alleged.

Motion to Set Conditions of Release in USA v. Mark Gyetvay, a citizen of Italy, Russia, and the United States charged with "a decade-long tax evasion scheme that involved his failure to report over $40 million of income to the IRS", at the U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Criminal Indictment alleging tax evasion involving companies or accounts in Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Russia, and Switzerland in USA v. Mark Gyetvay, the Chief Financial Officer of Russian gas producer Novatek who is apparently a citizen of Italy, Russia, and the United States, at the U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Criminal Indictment alleging "a fraudulent scheme referred to by the conspirators as the 'Singapore Solution'" involving entities in the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Liechtenstein, Singapore, and Switzerland in USA v. Evo Bechtiger, Bernhard Lampert, Peter Rüegg, Roderic Sage, Rolf Schnellmann, Daniel Wächli, and Allied Finance Trust AG, described as "a financial services company in Zurich", at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Notice of Motion to Quash IRS Summonses issued to JPMorgan Chase Bank, Santander NA, and TD Bank regarding "the Russian Income Tax Liabilities of JSC Topprom" in Alma Trade LLC v. USA at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

USA's Opposition to Motion to Strike by Bermuda-domiciled Tangarra Consultants Ltd. in USA v. Robert T. Brockman at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.Editor's Note: This document, which is publicly-available from federal court in the United States, is the subject of ongoing legal proceedings at Bermuda Supreme Court in which Tangarra's principal, Evatt Tamine, an Australian lawyer who provided services to Brockman (a software tycoon who was criminally indicted in the US for an alleged $2 billion tax fraud), obtained an injunction that legally prohibits Bermuda Press (Holdings) Ltd., the publisher of local daily newspaper The Royal Gazette, from publishing an exhibit to the document, specifically a 56-page affidavit by Tamine, who is a self-described "cooperating witness" in the US criminal action against Brockman. Bermuda Judge Larry Mussenden ruled that “the confidentiality” of Tamine’s affidavit had not been lost by its “limited publication” on the US Court’s website. To eliminate that as a credible argument, OffshoreAlert has today not only published the contentious document but made it available to everyone for free (both subscribers and non-subscribers). We do so in the public interest. Bermuda Supreme Court has a long history of draconian secrecy, first by denying the general public access to any writs for over 40 years and then, after Bermuda’s Chief Justice acknowledged in 2015 that the practice was essentially illegal, continuing to seal entire business-related cases and writs on a disturbingly-high scale, an inevitable consequence of which is that questionable conduct by Bermuda entities is concealed from existing clients, potential clients, and everyone else.

Forfeiture Complaint in USA v. $4.9 million belonging to The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited to settle tax evasion allegations, filed at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Forfeiture Complaint in USA v. $4.9 million belonging to The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited, of Bermuda, to settle tax evasion allegations involving its Bermuda and Cayman Islands operations, filed at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Motion to Withdraw Bankruptcy Reference regarding "a long-running saga to collect the $20 million-plus tax liabilities of Ronald and Annette Talmage" and "a transparent attempt to collaterally attack three prior federal judgments in favor of the United States" in USA v. Cosimo Borrelli and Colin Wilson, as the Foreign Representatives of Heng Cheong Pacific Limited, World-Wide Investment Services (BVI) Limited, and New Century Properties Limited, all of the British Virgin Islands, at the U. S. District Court for the District of Utah.

Butterfield Bank has turned over client records and agreed to forfeit $4.9 million that it received in fees and pay restitution of $704,000 under a Non-Prosecution Agreement with the U. S. Department of Justice in which the bank admitted "criminal conduct" by fraudulently helping U.S. taxpayers evade taxes via its Bermuda and Cayman Islands operations.

Complaint "to reduce FBAR penalty to judgment" regarding bank accounts in Liechtenstein and Switzerland in USA v. Monel Herscovici at the U. S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Complaint for €6.5 million alleging "a fraudulent scheme that caused FPSF Belgium to pay large amounts of money to putative entities in the United States claiming to be owed tax refunds relating to corporate dividends" in Kingdom of Belgium Federal Public Service Finance, described as Belgium's tax collection agency v. Lion Advisory Inc. Pension Plan, described as a New York-based "trust recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service"; Richard Markowitz, of New York; Luke McGee, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; John van Merkensteijn, of New York; FGC Securities LLC, described as being domiciled in Delaware and based in New York, and Stephen Wheeler, of Shrewsbury, New Jersey, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Complaint for €6.3 million alleging "a fraudulent scheme that caused FPSF Belgium to pay large amounts of money to putative entities in the United States claiming to be owed tax refunds relating to corporate dividends" in Kingdom of Belgium Federal Public Service Finance, which is Belgium's tax collection agency v. Traden Investments Pension Plan, described as a New York-based "trust recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service"; Adam LaRosa, of New Jersey; FGC Securities LLC, described as being domiciled in Delaware and based in New York, and Stephen Wheeler, of New Jersey, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Complaint for €7.9 million alleging "a fraudulent scheme that caused FPSF Belgium to pay large amounts of money to putative entities in the United States claiming to be owed tax refunds relating to corporate dividends" in Kingdom of Belgium Federal Public Service Finance, which is Belgium's tax collection agency v. Xiphias LLC Pension Plan, described as a New York-based "a trust recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service"; Richard Markowitz, of New York; Matthew Stein, of New York; John van Merkensteijn, of New York; FGC Securities LLC, described as being domiciled in Delaware and based in New York; Alicia Colodner, of New York, and Stephen Wheeler, of New Jersey, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Complaint for €6.8 million alleging "a fraudulent scheme that caused FPSF Belgium to pay large amounts of money to putative entities in the United States claiming to be owed tax refunds relating to corporate dividend" in Kingdom of Belgium Federal Public Service Finance, which is Belgium's tax collection agency v. Ganesha Industries Pension Plan, described as a New York-based "trust recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service"; Adam LaRosa, of New Jersey; Jerome L'Hote, of New York; FGC Securities LLC, of New York, and Stephen Wheeler, of New Jersey, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Complaint for €6 million alleging "a fraudulent scheme that caused FPSF Belgium to pay large amounts of money to putative entities in the United States claiming to be owed tax refunds relating to corporate dividends" in Kingdom of Belgium Federal Public Service Finance v. Michelle Investments LLC Pension Plan, of New York; Richard Markowitz, of New York; John van Merkensteijn, of New York; FGC Securities LLC, of New York; Alicia Colodner, of New York, and Stephen Wheeler, of New Jersey, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Complaint for €6.3 million alleging "a fraudulent scheme that caused FPSF Belgium to pay large amounts of money to putative entities in the United States claiming to be owed tax refunds relating to corporate dividends" in Kingdom of Belgium Federal Public Service Finance v. Delvian LLC Pension Plan, of New York; Alicia Colodner, of New York; Richard Markowitz, of New York; John van Merkensteijn, of New York; FGC Securities LLC, of New York, and Stephen Wheeler, of New Jersey, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Complaint for €5.9 million alleging "a fraudulent scheme that caused FPSF Belgium to pay large amounts of money to putative entities in the United States claiming to be owed tax refunds relating to corporate dividends" in Kingdom of Belgium Federal Public Service Finance v. AOI Pension Plan, of New York; Adam LaRosa, of New Jersey; Matthew Stein, of New York; FGC Securities LLC, of New York, and Stephen Wheeler, of New Jersey, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Belgium's tax collector is seeking combined damages of at least €44.9 million in seven complaints filed in New York against seven pension plans and their operators for an allegedly fraudulent tax refund scheme.

Order granting a petition for Leave to Serve 'John Doe' Summonses as part of an IRS investigation into U.S. taxpayers who are suspected of tax evasion using the services of Panama Offshore Legal Services in USA v. Federal Express Corporation, a.k.a. FedEx Express; Fed Ex Ground Package System, Inc., a.k.a. FedEx Ground; DHL Express (USA), Inc., United Parcel Service, Inc., the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, The Clearing House Payments Company LLC, HSBC Bank USA, N.A., Citibank, N.A., Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and Bank of America, N.A. at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

U.S. Magistrate Judge's Report Recommending that the USA's Motion to Repatriate Foreign Assets be granted to satisfy a judgment in excess of $15 million for failure to disclose foreign accounts in Costa Rica and Switzerland in USA v. Isac Schwarzbaum, who was born in Germany and lives in Florida, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Supplemental Memorandum of Law and Declaration in support of a petition for Leave to Serve 'John Doe' Summonses as part of an IRS investigation into U.S. taxpayers who are suspected of tax evasion using the services of Panama Offshore Legal Services in USA v. Federal Express Corporation, a.k.a. FedEx Express; Fed Ex Ground Package System, Inc., a.k.a. FedEx Ground; DHL Express (USA), Inc., United Parcel Service, Inc., the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, The Clearing House Payments Company LLC, HSBC Bank USA, N.A., Citibank, N.A., Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and Bank of America, N.A. at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Claim Form alleging breach of contract and negligence in Apex Financial Services (Trustees) Ltd., of Jersey, in the Channel Islands v. Wiggin Osborne Fullerlove, a law firm based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, at the High Court of Justice for England and Wales.

Petition to Quash Third-Party Summons Issued to Wells Fargo Bank N.A. by the IRS in Jen (Hwa Yu) Zhang and Charles (Zhi Yu) Zhang, Canadian citizens who are "targets of a criminal investigation in Canada" that alleges "violations of the Customs Act, the Criminal Code, the Excise Tax Act, and the Special Import Measures Act" v. USA at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Forfeiture Complaint regarding $35 million associated with alleged tax evasion activity by "Swiss Life Holding AG, a Swiss insurance holding company, and three of its subsidiaries, Swiss Life (Liechtenstein) AG, Swiss Life (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., and Swiss Life (Luxembourg) S.A." in USA v. $35 Million at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Motion to Repatriate Foreign Assets to satisfy a judgment "in excess of $15 million" for failure to disclose foreign accounts in Costa Rica and Switzerland in USA v. Isac Schwarzbaum, who was born in Germany and lives in Florida, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Judgment in Jonathan David Christenbury v. Keithley F.T. Lake and First Fidelity Trust Limited at the High Court of Justice of Saint Christopher and Nevis.

Complaint under the Bank Secrecy Act to collect penalties totaling $300,000 for allegedly failing to disclose "a financial interest in an account at National Westminster Bank plc, also known as NatWest, in the United Kingdom" in USA v. John Glaister, described as "a professional real estate consultant with foreign clients, including in Germany and Scotland", at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Complaint "to reduce to judgment and collect outstanding civil penalties" totaling $80,724 for "non-willful failure to timely report his financial interest in foreign bank accounts" involving an account at Rothschild Bank AG, in Zurich, Switzerland, in USA v. David Sinyavskiy, described as a former resident of Ukraine who became a United States citizen, at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Complaint "to determine and resolve questions of actual controversy involving the relationship between India's wholly-owned national airline, Air India, and India, and in particular, whether Air India is the alter ego of India" and for "a money judgment adjudging that Air India is jointly and severally liable to satisfy the judgment Plaintiffs expect to be awarded against India based on a pending petition to confirm an arbitration award" for $1.2 billion in Cairn Energy Plc and Cairn UK Holdings Limited, both of Scotland v. Air India Ltd., of India, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Criminal Information alleging conspiracy to defraud the United States in USA v. Swiss Life Holding AG, of Switzerland; Swiss Life (Liechtenstein) AG, of Liechtenstein; Swiss Life (Luxembourg) SA, of Luxembourg, and Swiss Life (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., of Singapore, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Deferred Prosecution Agreement, with exhibits that include a Criminal Information, Statement of Facts, and Forfeiture Complaint, in USA v. Swiss Life Holding AG, of Switzerland; Swiss Life (Liechtenstein) AG, of Liechtenstein; Swiss Life (Luxembourg) SA, of Luxembourg, and Swiss Life (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., of Singapore, who agreed to pay $77 million to settle a criminal charge of what the USA described in an accompanying news release as "conspiring with U.S. taxpayers and others to conceal from the Internal Revenue Service more than $1.452 billion in offshore insurance policies, including more than 1,600 insurance wrapper policies, and related policy investment accounts in banks around the world and the income generated in these accounts", filed at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence from Ocean Bank - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from Brazil - for a criminal investigation into "Carlos Antonio Lemos da Fonseca, Brasita Cigarros Industria e Comercio Ltda., and other individuals for six offenses, specifically, tax fraud, false statement, falsification of public seal or sign, criminal organization, unauthorized exchange operation, and money laundering".

Ex Parte Petition for Leave to Serve 'John Doe' Summonses as part of an IRS investigation into U.S. taxpayers who are suspected of tax evasion using the services of Panama Offshore Legal Services, described as "a Panamanian law firm that has been providing offshore services since 2000", allegedly offering legal structures formed in several jurisdictions, including Belize, the British Virgin Islands, Delaware, Nevis, Nevada, Panama, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Switzerland, in USA v. Federal Express Corporation, a.k.a. FedEx Express; Fed Ex Ground Package System, Inc., a.k.a. FedEx Ground; DHL Express (USA), Inc., United Parcel Service, Inc., the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, The Clearing House Payments Company LLC, HSBC Bank USA, N.A., Citibank, N.A., Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and Bank of America, N.A. at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Ex Parte Petition for Leave to Serve 'John Doe' Summons as part of an IRS investigation into U.S. taxpayers who are suspected of tax evasion using the services of Panama Offshore Legal Services, described as "a Panamanian firm that assists clients in concealing their beneficial ownership of assets", in USA v. Western Union Financial Services Inc. at the U. S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

Ex Parte Petition for Leave to Serve 'John Doe' Summons as part of an IRS investigation into U.S. taxpayers who are suspected of tax evasion using the services of Panama Offshore Legal Services, described as "a Panamanian firm that assists clients in concealing their beneficial ownership of assets", in USA v. MoneyGram Payment Systems Inc. at the U. S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence from IAA, Inc., described as an "online auction business" - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from Lithuania - for a criminal investigation into ESmotorsport, of Lithuania, for suspected fraud and tax evasion.

Amended Claim Form and Particulars of Claim alleging negligent advice regarding tax liabilities in the United Kingdom of plaintiffs who were associated with "offshore investments" and "offshore structures" in Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, and Guernsey in Morten Høegh and Thomas Høegh, described as Norwegians who were "tax resident in the UK and domiciled in Norway" v. Taylor Wessing LLP, a law firm, and MSR Partners LLP, f.k.a. Moore Stephens LLP, an accounting firm, at the High Court of Justice for England and Wales.

Criminal Indictment alleging tax fraud conspiracy involving accounts or companies in Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Nevis, and Switzerland in USA v. Carlos E. Kepke, who was described as "an attorney specializing in creating and maintaining foreign trusts and companies for his clients", at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Forfeiture Complaint regarding a "fraud conspiracy" involving U.S. taxpayers in USA v. Rahn+Bodmer Co., of Switzerland, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

USA's Ex Parte Petition for Leave to Serve IRS 'John Doe' Summons on Payward Ventures Inc. and subsidiaries, d.b.a. Kraken or Kraken.com, as part of "an investigation to determine the correct federal income tax liabilities for taxable years 2016-2020 of United States taxpayers who have conducted transactions in cryptocurrency", filed at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

USA's Ex Parte Petition for Leave to Serve an IRS 'John Doe' Summons on "Circle Internet Financial Inc., or its predecessors, subsidiaries, divisions, affiliates, including Poloniex LLC" as part of an investigation into suspected cryptocurrency-related tax fraud, filed at the U. S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.