Tax

Complaint to extradite Darius Vitkus, described as "the sole owner and shareholder Gvidonas UAB", from the USA to Lithuania to face charges of fraud, forgery, misappropriation, tax evasion, and theft.

Sentencing Remarks regarding tax fraud involving "the acquisition, and subsequent management, of the British Home Stores chain of department stores" in Regina v. Dominic Chappell at Southwark Crown Court, in England.

Application for a warrant to seize $77.8 million held at Mirabaud Bank, in Switzerland, that originated from Bermuda Commercial Bank and is the suspected proceeds of an alleged fraud and money laundering scheme involving "two U.S. billionaires, Robert Smith and Robert Brockman" in USA v. Edge Capital Investments Ltd., of Nevis, at the U. S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

US software tycoon Robert Brockman has been criminally indicted in California for an alleged $2 billion offshore tax evasion scheme involving accounts and entities in Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Nevis, and Switzerland. In a related case, billionaire private equity boss Robert Smith agreed to pay penalties of $139 million to avoid prosecution.

Deferred Prosecution Agreement in which the defendant agreed to pay tax, penalties, and interest totaling $139.2 million regarding "an illegal scheme to conceal income and evade taxes he owed by using an offshore trust structure with related foreign corporations and offshore bank accounts, and by willfully filing a series of false documents with the Internal Revenue Service" involving entities and accounts in Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Nevis, and Switzerland in USA v. Robert F. Smith, of Austin, Texas, at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

News Release by the U.S. Department of Justice entitled 'Jersey/Swiss Financial Services Firm Admits to Conspiring with U.S. Taxpayers to Hide Assets and Income in Offshore Accounts - Strachans SA in Liquidation Pleads Guilty'.

Criminal Judgment imposing a fine of $500,000 for conspiracy to defraud the United States in USA v. Strachans SA (in Liquidation), of Jersey, in the Channel Islands, and Switzerland, at the U. S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence from Amerijet International LLC and U.S. Customs and Border Protection - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from Trinidad and Tobago - for a criminal investigation into Radesh Ramnath, who was "a Trinidad and Tobago Customs and Excise Officer", and unidentified co-conspirators for suspected money laundering, smuggling, and tax evasion.

Criminal Indictment alleging conspiracy to defraud the USA, tax evasion, wire fraud, FBAR violations, money laundering, evidence tampering, and destruction of evidence regarding an alleged scheme to conceal approximately $2 billion of capital gains income and involving entities and accounts in Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Nevis, and Switzerland, in USA v. Robert T. Brockman, of Houston, Texas, at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Plea Agreement in USA v. Strachans SA (in Liquidation), described as "a Jersey-based accounting and financial services company that assisted U.S. taxpayer-clients and others in evading taxes through the use of offshore trusts and entities and offshore bank accounts" that later moved to Switzerland and "began doing business as Elston Management", at the U. S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Criminal Information alleging conspiracy to defraud the United States in USA v. Strachans SA (in Liquidation), described as "a Jersey-based accounting and financial services company that assisted U.S. taxpayer-clients and others in evading taxes through the use of offshore trusts and entities and offshore bank accounts" that later moved to Switzerland, at the U. S. District Court for the Central District of California. Editor's Note: In the Criminal Information, the USA stated that Strachans moved from Jersey to Switzerland in 1999 and, in 2009, "began doing business as Elston Management". Research by OffshoreAlert in the Swiss Commercial Registry showed that directors, past and present, of Elston Management SA have included Richard Jepson Egglishaw, a citizen of the United Kingdom residing in Monaco; Dino Ferro, a citizen of Italy; Rachel Laure Dupanloup, Henri Bressoud, and Dominique de Weck, of Switzerland.

Petition to Quash Third Party Summons Issued to Citibank NA by the IRS regarding "India Income Tax Liabilities" and an allegation of "political harassment against the current Indian administration's political opposition" in Sabena Puri v. USA at the U. S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence from CenturyLink - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from Poland - for a criminal investigation into Prima Spolka, LLC and others for suspected fraud involving value added tax reimbursements.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence from JPMorgan Chase Bank regarding Kratos LLC - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from Hungary - for a criminal investigation into Zsolt Kurányi for tax fraud and money laundering.

Complaint regarding "the unbridled power that the Internal Revenue Service regularly exerts to seize innocent Americans' private financial information" in James Harper, a client of digital currency exchanges Coinbase, Abra, and Uphold who "received a letter from Defendant Internal Revenue Service informing him that his financial records related to ownership of bitcoin had been obtained by Defendant IRS without any particularized suspicion of wrongdoing" v. Internal Revenue Service and Charles P. Rettig, in his capacity as Commissioner of the IRS, at the U. S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire.

Chapter 15 Petition for Recognition of a Foreign Main Proceeding in Germany by Jens Lieser, as the Foreign Representative of Adrian Guenter Lenz, the latter of whom is facing "ongoing criminal proceedings for fraud against, inter alia, Deutsche Post AG, on a repetitive basis, as well as tax evasion", at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence from First Federal Bank - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from Sint Maarten - for a criminal investigation into Edward O'Neal Arrindell and others for suspected bribery, forgery, money laundering, and tax fraud, including participation in "a criminal scheme to bribe a Member of the Sint Maarten Parliament".

Complaint regarding tax liabilities in USA v. Altaba Inc., f.k.a. Yahoo! Inc., at the U. S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

Criminal Indictment for alleged tax evasion in USA v. John David McAfee, of Lexington, Tennessee, at the U. S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.

Petition to Quash Third Party Summons issued to Citibank NA by the Internal Revenue Services regarding "India Tax Liabilities" in Sabena Puri, of India v. USA at the U. S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Complaint for damages of $4 million regarding failure to disclose accounts at Swiss banks in USA v. Jane Doe, as the Executor of the Estate of Marc Ratzersdorfer, at the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Forfeiture Complaint regarding $160 million of "gross proceeds from its scheme to defraud the United States" in USA v. Bank Hapoalim BM, of Israel, and Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd., of Switzerland, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Final Judgment for $12.9 million in USA v. Isac Schwarzbaum at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Criminal Judgment for conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States in USA v. Panayiotis Kyriacou, a.k.a. Peter Kyriacou, of England, at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Forfeiture Complaint regarding the proceeds of an alleged tax fraud and money laundering scheme by Wayne Franklyn Chinn and involving accounts and entities in Hong Kong, Liechtenstein, Panama, Singapore, and Switzerland in USA v. Funds in the name of MMT International Holdings Ltd. at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and DBS Bank, both of Singapore, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Application by BRP 12, SA de CV, Centro Educativo Tres Culturas, SC, Eureka Mexico Education, SA de CV, Lottus Education, SAPI de CV, and Universidad Tres Culturas, SC, all of Mexico, to take discovery from Vanta Education Inc. for use in "an arbitration proceeding in Mexico initiated by Vanta Education Holdings Limited and Vanta Education Dutch Coop, LLC, two of Vanta's offshore subsidiaries" in England and Delaware involving, inter alia, "a potential tax evasion scheme", filed at the U. S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

Plea Agreement in USA v. Bank Hapoalim BM, of Israel, and Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd., of Switzerland, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Deferred Prosecution Agreement regarding a scheme to launder the proceeds of bribery and corruption involving soccer's global governing body FIFA in USA v. Bank Hapoalim B.M., of Israel, and Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd., of Switzerland, 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. Bank Hapoalim BM, described as "an Israeli public company that is one of Israel's largest banks", and Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd., of Switzerland, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Consent Order settling allegations of facilitating tax evasion in New York State Department of Financial Services v. Bank Hapoalim BM and Bank Hapoalim BM, New York Branches.

Approved Judgment regarding the taxation of partnerships in Hong Kong in Investec Asset Finance Plc and Investec Bank Plc v. The Commissioners of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs at the Court of Appeal for the Royal Courts of Justice, in England.

Denmark's national tax agency has applied to take discovery from 21 corporate services providers in the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands whose clients are suspected of participating in a $2 billion tax refund fraud.

Motion for Issuance of a Request for International Judicial Assistance to Obtain Evidence in the British Virgin Islands from Harneys Corporate Services Limited, Intershore Consult (BVI) Ltd., Intertrust Corporate Services (BVI) Limited, MMG Trust (BVI) Corp., Mossack Fonseca & Co. (BVI) Limited, by its liquidator, Deloitte Ltd. (BVI); Overseas Management Company Trust (BVI) Ltd., Sentinel International Management SA, and Vistra (BVI) Limited regarding an allegedly fraudulent 12.7 billion Danish Kroner tax refund fraud scheme whose "principal organizer" was identified as Dubai-based British national Sanjay Shah in Skatteforvaltningen, a.k.a. SKAT, Denmark's tax collection agency v. John van Merkensteijn, Richard Markowitz, Bernina Pension Plan Trust, RJM Capital Pension Plan Trust, 2321 Capital Pension Plan, Bowline Management Pension Plan, California Catalog Company Pension Plan, Clove Pension Plan, Davin Investments Pension Plan, Delvian LLC Pension Plan, DFL Investments Pension Plan, Laegeler Asset Management Pension Plan, Lion Advisory Inc. Pension Plan, Mill River Capital Management Pension Plan, Next Level Pension Plan, Rajan Investments LLC Pension Plan, Spirit on the Water Pension Plan, and Traden Investments Pension Plan at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Motion for Issuance of a Request for International Judicial Assistance to Obtain Evidence in the Cayman Islands from Bell Rock Corporate Services, Campbell Corporate Services Limited, CO Services Cayman Limited, DMS Corporate Services Ltd., Forbes Hare Trust Company Limited, Genesis Trust & Corporate Services Ltd., Harneys Services (Cayman) Limited, Intertrust Corporate Services (C.I.) Limited, Ocorian (Cayman) Limited, Sterling Trust (Cayman) Limited, Trident Trust Company (Cayman) Limited, Vistra (Cayman) Limited, and Walkers Corporate Limited regarding an allegedly fraudulent 12.7 billion Danish Kroner tax refund fraud scheme whose "principal organizer" was identified as Dubai-based British national Sanjay Shah in Skatteforvaltningen, a.k.a. SKAT, Denmark's tax collection agency v. John van Merkensteijn, Richard Markowitz, Bernina Pension Plan Trust, RJM Capital Pension Plan Trust, 2321 Capital Pension Plan, Bowline Management Pension Plan, California Catalog Company Pension Plan, Clove Pension Plan, Davin Investments Pension Plan, Delvian LLC Pension Plan, DFL Investments Pension Plan, Laegeler Asset Management Pension Plan, Lion Advisory Inc. Pension Plan, Mill River Capital Management Pension Plan, Next Level Pension Plan, Rajan Investments LLC Pension Plan, Spirit on the Water Pension Plan, and Traden Investments Pension Plan at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Amended Complaint regarding a "fraudulent tax refund scheme that deceived SKAT into paying out over 12. 7 billion Danish Kroner, the equivalent of approximately $2.1 billion (US), of allegedly withheld dividend tax" in Skatteforvaltningen, a.k.a. SKAT, Denmark's tax collection agency v. John van Merkensteijn, Richard Markowitz, Bernina Pension Plan Trust, RJM Capital Pension Plan Trust, 2321 Capital Pension Plan, Bowline Management Pension Plan, California Catalog Company Pension Plan, Clove Pension Plan, Davin Investments Pension Plan, Delvian LLC Pension Plan, DFL Investments Pension Plan, Laegeler Asset Management Pension Plan, Lion Advisory Inc. Pension Plan, Mill River Capital Management Pension Plan, Next Level Pension Plan, Rajan Investments LLC Pension Plan, Spirit on the Water Pension Plan, and Traden Investments Pension Plan at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Australian barrister Evatt Tamine has been accused of stealing "more than $20 million" from a Bermuda charitable trust set up by American billionaire Eugene Brockman, while the Trust itself is apparently the target of a $2 billion "tax and money laundering" investigation in the U.S., according to two court judgments.

Plea Agreement and Factual Proffer for tax evasion and failure to report foreign bank accounts in Croatia, Germany, Serbia, and Switzerland in USA v. Dusko Bruer, described as "a Croatian national and naturalized citizen of the United States", at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Complaint alleging fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and intentional interference with advantageous or business relationship regarding Plaintiff's book 'Lucifer's Banker: The Untold Story of How I destroyed Swiss Bank Secrecy' in Bradley C. Birkenfeld, a United States citizen residing in Malta who is best-known for whistleblowing on UBA AG, of Switzerland v. Leonard A. Lauder, described as "chairman emeritus" and former CEO of Estée Lauder cosmetics and fragrances firm, and Kevin M. Costner, described as "an American actor, director, producer, and musician", at the Circuit Court of the 15th Judicial Circuit, in and for Palm Beach County, Florida. Editor's Note: This complaint was filed at state court in Florida 12 days after a similar complaint was dismissed at federal court in Miami for "lack of jurisdiction".

Complaint seeking, inter alia, a refund of payments made under the IRS' Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program by clients of United Bank of Switzerland in Robert Harrison and Julianne Sprinkle, both of Virginia v. Internal Revenue Service, Charles P. Rettig, in his capacity as Commissioner of the IRS; U. S. Department of the Treasury, and Steven Mnuchin, in his capacity as U. S. Secretary of the Treasury, at the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Judgment in St. John's Trust Company (PVT) Limited, whose "sole shareholder is another private trust company, domiciled in Nevis, called Cabarita" v. James Watlington, Glenn Ferguson, Cabarita (PTC) Limited, in its personal capacity and as Trustee of The Waterford Charitable Trust, and The Attorney General at Bermuda Supreme Court. Editor's Note: In the judgment, it is stated that Evatt Tamine, an Australian barrister, was being sued for allegedly "stealing trust assets of the value of more than $20 million" and that he was a "co-operating witness" in a "tax and money laundering investigation" by the U. S. Department of Justice and IRS into "more than USD 2 billion of unreported gains" involving the Bermuda-domiciled A. Eugene Brockman Charitable Trust.

Application by the Republic of Kazakhstan to take discovery from King & Spalding LLP for use in criminal proceedings in Kazakhstan regarding suspected fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering involving Anatolie Stati and Gabriel Stati and "their group of affiliated companies which they have owned or controlled", including Ascom Group SA, of Moldova; Terra Raf Trans Traiding Ltd., of Gibraltar, and Hayden Intervest Limited, of the British Virgin Islands, filed at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Third Superseding Indictment adding four new defendants, including former executives of 21st Century Fox, Inc., of the United States, and Imagina Media Audiovisual SL, of Spain, alleging racketeering, money laundering, wire fraud, tax fraud, and unlawful procurement of naturalization regarding alleged bribery and corruption involving FIFA and other soccer organizations in USA v. Hugo Jinkis, a citizen of Argentina; Mariano Jinkis, a citizen of Argentina; Full Play Group SA, of Uruguay; Hernan Lopez, a citizen of the U.S. and Argentina; Carlos Martinez, a citizen of the U.S. and Mexico; Gerard Romy, a citizen of Spain; Ariel Alvarado, a citizen of Panama; Manuel Burga, a citizen of Peru; Luis Chiriboga, a citizen of Ecuador; Marco Polo Del Nero, a citizen of Brazil; Eduardo Deluca, a citizen of Argentina; Eugenio Figueredo, a citizen of the U.S. and Uruguay; José Luís Meiszner, a citizen of Argentina; Romer Osuna, a citizen of Bolivia; Ricardo Teixeira, a citizen of Brazil; Reynaldo Vasquez, a citizen of El Salvador, and Jack Warner, a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Judgment ordering a hearing on whether the appointment in the British Virgin Islands of the British liquidator of a BVI company that had been petitioned into liquidation in the United Kingdom by that country's tax collector, HM Revenue & Customs, "would be indirectly enforcing UK revenue law" in Michael James Gregson, as liquidator of Meribelle Investments Limited (in Liquidation) v. Meribelle Investments Ltd. and The Registrar of Corporate Affairs at the British Virgin Islands High Court.

Russian businessman Oleg Tinkov has been arrested in London after being indicted for tax fraud in California for allegedly failing to disclose his $1 billion beneficial ownership of, and $199 million income from, a London Stock Exchange-listed online bank via three BVI companies when renouncing his U.S. citizenship in 2013.

USA's Sentencing Letter in USA v. Panayiotis Kyriacou, a.k.a. Peter Peter Kyriacou, a citizen of the United Kingdom, at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Judgment regarding a notice to produce information to the International Tax Authority in Bowview Overseas Limited and Navigator Finance Limited v. Aleman, Cordero, Galindo & Lee Trust (BVI) Limited at the High Court of Justice for the British Virgin Islands High Court.

Defendant's Sentencing Submission in USA v. Panayiotis Kyriacou, a.k.a. Peter Kyriacou, a citizen of the United Kingdom and a former investment manager at British firm Beaufort Securities Limited, at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Superseding Indictment alleging tax fraud and money laundering regarding an investigation triggered by the data leak known as the 'Panama Papers' in USA v. Richard Gaffey, a.k.a. Dick Gaffey, an accountant residing in Massachusetts, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.