Category: HSBC

Steven Gerrard sues HSBC for £100m over tax schemes

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard is taking legal action against his wealth manager following a crack down on tax avoidance schemes. The former Liverpool captain is among hundreds of investors who have launched a £100m lawsuit against HSBC’s private banking division, claiming it defrauded them, The Times has reported. Composer Lord… – Continue reading

Switzerland forced to share information on HSBC Indian clients

Switzerland’s Supreme Court has ordered the country’s authorities to turn over information on HSBC accounts with the Indian government regarding two of its citizens. Both clients had fought the release on the grounds that India’s request for assistance in a tax-dodging probe arose from stolen bank data. The case involved… – Continue reading

Switzerland To Hand Over HSBC Data To India

India is to receive bank account information from HSBC, after Switzerland’s highest court ruled that the bank is obligated to provide data requested where the leaked data has not been purchased. The information was leaked in 2008 by Herve Falciani, who worked for HSBC’s Swiss private bank. The Indian authorities… – Continue reading

Jahangir Tareen’s ‘Trust Deed’ signed and executed in Switzerland

ISLAMABAD/LONDON: The thirty-eight-page trust deed of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Khan Tareen’s offshore trust was signed and formalised in Geneva, Switzerland, and facilitated by HSBC Guyerzeller Trust Company Geneva – raising questions about Swiss bank accounts. During the hearing before Pakistan’s Supreme Court, Tareen was asked no questions about… – Continue reading

This Caribbean Bank Wants Chinese Money No One Else Will Touch

The global campaign against money laundering combined with the Panama Papers made the Caribbean islands of sun, sand and offshore banking a near no-go zone for the world’s biggest banks. So the British Virgin Islands has a solution: a bank to service offshore companies, many of them from China, locked… – Continue reading

HSBC discloses tax evasion probes in India, other countries

Global banking giant HSBC has disclosed being probed by tax authorities in India and several other countries, including against its Swiss and Dubai units, for allegedly abetting tax evasion of four Indians and their families. Besides, the bank has been approached by the regulatory and law enforcement agencies of various… – Continue reading

Curbs on black money abroad: Govt revising tax treaties to share data with ED, CBI

Sources said this amendment will allow speedy prosecution and imprisonment of account holders as enumerated in the Panama Papers, Liechtenstein and HSBC Geneva lists. Moving to register criminal charges and impose stricter penalties against those who have stashed black money abroad, India has started revising tax treaties with partner countries… – Continue reading

Action Against Tax Evasion/Black Money Is An Ongoing Process: Minister

Minister of State (Finance) Santosh Kumar Gangwar on Tuesday said action against tax evasion/black money, including in respect of black money stashed away abroad, is an ongoing process and such action under direct tax laws includes searches, surveys, enquiries, assessment of income, levy of penalties and filing of prosecution complaints… – Continue reading

German taxman goes after foreign banks

German state prosecutors are investigating nearly 60 foreign banks for “abetting tax evasion,” a newspaper report has said. Self-declaring former tax-evaders are proving a particularly valuable source of information. Prosecutors in Germany’s most populous state are investigating 57 foreign banks on charges of abetting tax evasion, according to the “Süddeutsche… – Continue reading

Heat on tax evaders could be endgame for black money

Chances of tax evaders coming under the scanner is rising due to the implementation of the GST, greater use of technology and exchange of information between countries New Delhi: The noose is tightening around tax evaders. Be it the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) or the greater… – Continue reading

Panama Papers: India asks other countries for details on tax evaders, accounts

India has made as many as 250 references to other countries asking for details about tax evaders and bank accounts related to the Panama cases, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said. This is significant as at least 500 Indians are reportedly said to have held offshore accounts in tax havens,… – Continue reading

Canada’s record on finding tax evaders is dismal

Only a week after the so-called Panama Papers burst into the media spotlight early last month, the Canadian government issued a news release vowing to “crack down on tax evasion and tax avoidance.” The leak of a staggering 11.5 million documents from a Panama City law firm promised to reveal… – Continue reading

HMRC complicite in tax avoidance with ‘Tax Haven based landlords’

HMRC complicite in tax avoidance scheme after it emerged it rents its own office from tax haven based company A day on, the world is still reeling from the revelations of the Panama Papers leak, the full repercussions of which are yet to be felt. Eleven million documents leaked from… – Continue reading

Major banks deny helping clients avoid tax offshore

HSBC, Credit Suisse and the Royal Bank of Scotland-owned bank Coutts Trustees have denied claims they are helping clients avoid tax by using complex offshore structures following the leak of the Panama papers. The banks were named in a list of 500 lenders who investigative journalists said had helped to… – Continue reading

Global tax enforcement puts Cayman in the crosshairs

The investigation and prosecution of tax evasion has, in the last decade, grown from a specialised subcategory of law enforcement into a first-tier policy concern for the global community.Starting with the US government’s crackdown on Swiss bank UBS in 2008, there has been a steady drumbeat of news about prosecutions… – Continue reading

Markit launches tax utility

LONDON & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Markit (Nasdaq:MRKT), a leading global provider of financial information services, today announced the launch of a tax utility. The initial offering supports compliance with US Treasury FATCA obligations. Designed in partnership with Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Morgan Stanley, the service provides tax form validation and secure… – Continue reading

Lawmakers Quiz Apple, Google, IKEA and McDonald’s Over Tax Avoidance

In their latest attempt to try to stamp out tax avoidance by multinationals in the European Union, lawmakers are set to question Apple, Google, IKEA and McDonald’s over their tax affairs as EU member states fail to agree a common tax policy. Lawmakers in the EU have struggled to prevent… – Continue reading

Gordhan to target offshore funds

FINANCE Minister Pravin Gordhan is widely expected to announce a new foreign exchange control and tax amnesty in his budget on Wednesday in a bid to encourage taxpayers who have not disclosed billions of rand worth of offshore assets to declare them and pay the due tax. The move would… – Continue reading

Extent of tax fraud unknown – SARS

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) still does not know the full extent of tax evasion, despite its work probing foreign bank accounts held by South African residents. It has been a year since SARS confirmed some account holders had been using their offshore accounts to evade their tax obligations,… – Continue reading

Special investigation: Why it’s not just planes that vanish in Bermuda

Journalist Steve Topple investigates Bermuda-based big business tax avoidance and its links with UK political parties – and even some charities LAST WEEK saw the news emerge that everyone’s favourite search engine, Google, only had to pay £97m in back-tax (not the “major success” of £130m as was first reported)… – Continue reading

The Tax Avoidance Battle: Nations vs. Multinationals

At least this is the goal – member states safeguarding their social models by preventing trans-border operating multinational companies from avoiding “their fair share” of the tax burden. According to the European Commission, small and medium-sized enterprises in the EU pay 30% higher tax burden than large multinational companies. With… – Continue reading

Cayman’s offshore banking sector shrinking

A major sector of the banking industry in the Caymans could be wiped out by tough regulations designed to fight money-laundering. The number of Class B banks registered with the islands’ regulator has fallen by 14 to 184 over the last year alone. Class B banks generally offer depository services… – Continue reading

IRS Still Hunts Offshore Accounts As More Foreign Banks Sign Deals With U.S.

With the web of FATCA information exchanges, whistleblowers, cooperating witnesses, and other sources, the IRS and Justice Department have a wealth of information at their disposal. They have warned offshore account holders to disclose before it’s too late. Under FATCA, banks everywhere want to know if you are compliant with… – Continue reading

China: offshore banks’ must reserve more yuan

China’s central bank said on Monday it will start implementing a reserve requirement ratio (RRR) on offshore banks’ domestic deposits, in what appears to be its latest attempt to stem speculation in the yuan and manage money flowing in and out of the country. Confusion over China’s foreign exchange policy… – Continue reading

China to start implementing RRR for offshore banks’ domestic deposits

China’s central bank said on Monday it will start implementing a reserve requirement ratio (RRR) on offshore banks’ domestic deposits, in what appears to be its latest attempt to stem speculation in the yuan and manage money flowing in and out of the country. Confusion over China’s foreign exchange policy… – Continue reading

IRS goes after Royce Gracie claiming tax underpayment, fraud totaling $1.15 million

Royce Gracie isn’t scheduled to fight at Bellator 149 until February, but he’s in a serious fight with the IRS over his taxes, including whether he rightfully claimed a tax credit for the poor. Remember the scrawny guy in a gi who smoked the field at UFC 1 and had… – Continue reading

United States: Global Tax Enforcement in 2016: What You Need To Know

The investigation and prosecution of tax evasion has, in the last decade, grown from a specialized subcategory of law enforcement into a first-tier policy concern for the global community. Starting with the U.S. government’s crackdown on Swiss bank UBS in 2008, there has been a steady drumbeat of news about… – Continue reading

Off-Shore Tax Sheltering Brought To An End By Law In Iceland

Iceland passed legislation that will make secret off-shore accounts very difficult to maintain for tax dodgers. RÚV reports that as of the start of this year, the Directorate of Internal Revenue will have access to the details of all overseas bank accounts held by Icelandic companies and individuals. The legislation,… – Continue reading

As Offshore Banks Agree To U.S. Tax Evasion Deal, Account Holders Must Deal With IRS

Lately, the IRS is warning offshore account holders to disclose before it’s too late. Under FATCA, banks everywhere want to know if you are compliant with the IRS. And the cost of compliance for many people is growing. The IRS updated its list of foreign banks where accounts trigger a… – Continue reading

Exclusive: More banks pay no UK tax, Labour wants tougher approach

Two more investment banks have reported paying zero tax in Britain in 2014, prompting the opposition Labour party to urge the government to reverse a tax change it made for banks last year. Citigroup and Credit Suisse disclosed in the past fortnight that their main UK subsidiaries paid no corporate… – Continue reading

China suspends forex business for some foreign banks: sources

China’s central bank has suspended at least three foreign banks from conducting some foreign exchange business until the end of March, three sources who had seen the suspension notices told Reuters on Wednesday. Included among the suspended services are liquidation of spot positions for clients and some other activities related… – Continue reading

Foreign Banks Pay To Avoid Tax Evasion Charges As More Americans Disclose Offshore Accounts

Lately, the IRS is warning offshore account holders to disclose before it’s too late. Under FATCA, banks everywhere want to know if you are compliant with the IRS. And the cost of compliance for many people is growing. The IRS updated its list of foreign banks where accounts trigger a… – Continue reading

Meg Hillier: Meet the Public Accounts Committee chairwoman taking over from Margaret Hodge

Meg Hillier has a tough act to follow. This parliament’s Public Accounts Committee chairwoman had a ringside seat watching her predecessor, Margaret Hodge, tear into tax avoiders and the tax man. “It is very exciting – you see all the guts of Whitehall spilled out in front of you,” she… – Continue reading

India, Switzerland improve cooperation on tax matters

NEW DELHI: With India stepping up efforts to bring back illicit funds stashed abroad, Switzerland has said both sides have improved their cooperation on tax matters following several high-level meetings. Over the past few months, both countries have been working closely on mutual administrative assistance, according to the Swiss government…. – Continue reading

RBS pays €23.8m to settle tax evasion inquiry into Coutts’ Swiss operation

Settlement with German prosecutors, which involves immunity for any current for former staff, is latest embarrassment for bailed-out bank Royal Bank of Scotland is paying €23.8m (£17.3m) to German prosecutors to settle an investigation into tax evasion by part of Coutts, best known for being banker to the Queen. The… – Continue reading

More than 50 banks which helped American clients dodge tax in Swiss bank accounts receive immunity from criminal prosecution in US

More than 50 banks which helped American clients dodge tax in Swiss bank accounts have received immunity from criminal prosecution in the US. The firms, which include UK giant Standard Chartered, Germany’s biggest lender Deutsche Bank, and France’s BNP Paribas, have reached plea bargains with the US Department of Justice…. – Continue reading

‘Edward Snowden Of Tax Evasion’ Gets Five Year Prison Sentence

Edward Snowden is not in jail, but his namesake soon could be. Switzerland has sentenced Hervé Falciani, a former HSBC Swiss bank employee, to five years in prison. He is the whistleblower and leaker often called the “Edward Snowden of tax evasion.” Leaks bank records and tax documents has helped… – Continue reading

HSBC whistleblower given five years’ jail

World Bulletin / News Desk Herve Falciani, the former HSBC employee whose disclosures uncorked the “Swissleaks” scandal on bank-supported tax evasion, was sentenced in absentia on Friday to five years in prison, Switzerland’s ATS news agency said. Falciani, who worked as an IT specialist with HSBC, was convicted of industrial… – Continue reading

SWISS TAX DEPARTMENT DISCLOSES NAME OF CONGRESS LEADER, HER SON, INDIA SEEKS

The number of Swiss institutions have seen “asset outflows” and the tax status of many of their clients have been found to be “inappropriate”, as per the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), which also has the mandate to combat money laundering activities. Switzerland authorities revealed on Tuesday that India… – Continue reading