Category: Asia

1MDB bringing back Cayman Islands fund, says minister

Sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) is bringing back the RM7.18 billion it had invested in the Cayman Islands, despite making good returns. Deputy finance minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said the fund had already brought back 60% of its funds, and the balance 40% will return to Malaysia by year-end,… – Continue reading

hong kong loans offshore banking taiwan China Offshore investment statutory> accounts and audit

Nov 5 (Reuters) – The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has launched an onsite examination into Hong Kong-based Taiwanese banks’ loan exposure to mainland Chinese companies, banking sources said on Tuesday. The HKMA, which is responsible for maintaining Hong Kong’s monetary and banking stability, stepped up its supervision of Hong… – Continue reading

Singapore: Changing Expectations on Transfer Pricing Documentation

Ernst & Young Solutions LLP, Singapore* It has been eight years since the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) first released its Circular on Transfer Pricing Guidelines. During that time, there have been significant changes in the international tax landscape. In Singapore, we have seen supplementary guidance from the IRAS… – Continue reading

Bank Leumi May Face Over $300M to Settle Tax Evasion Case

A source revealed that in order to settle the investigation into whether Bank Leumi Le-Israel (LUMI) BM helped Americans evade taxes, New York’s banking regulator will ask for over $300 million. The head of the state’s Department of Financial Services, Benjamin Lawsky, is looking for an amount that surpasses what… – Continue reading

Black Money – Will Agreement with USA help?

The Writ Petition filed by the NDA Government in mid-October consists of two parts. The first part deals with the issue of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement [DTAA], the information obtained from Liechtenstein through Germany and confidentiality obligations of Indian Government under the said DTAA. I had dealt extensively on this… – Continue reading

UPDATE 2-Israel arrested UBS adviser, 13 others, in tax evasion investigation

Nov 5 (Reuters) – Israel arrested 14 people, including a senior UBS investment adviser, as part of an investigation into Israelis allegedly holding undisclosed bank accounts with UBS worth hundreds of millions of euros, the Tax Authority said on Wednesday. All 14 had been released on bail soon after their… – Continue reading

India’s FATCA future unclear after names of alleged tax evaders are made public

On October 27, the Indian government disclosed names of alleged tax evaders to the Indian Supreme Court in an affidavit signed by the Department of Revenue. The affidavit accused some of the country’s top business owners of tax evasion through foreign held bank accounts. This development raises questions over confidentiality… – Continue reading

Jokowi to attend G20 Summit

The Foreign Ministry has confirmed that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will attend the G20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia on Nov. 15 to 16, burying speculation about his attendance at the event. “After much deliberation, the president has decided to attend the G20 Summit, as he acknowledges the significance and strategic… – Continue reading

Banks raise offshore yuan deposit rates ahead of through train scheme

Hong Kong has been witnessing an industry-wide increase in offshore yuan deposit rates since mid-September as banks scramble for the currency before the through train scheme launch. The window-dressing needs for year-end balance sheets, an anticipated rise in cross-border funding demand from mainland borrowers and the weakening of offshore yuan… – Continue reading

Most global companies are far too secretive about operations

WASHINGTON, Nov 5 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Most of the world’s biggest companies get a failing grade for transparency and are far too secretive about how they operate, despite mounting pressure for business to stand firm against bribery, corruption and tax avoidance, a survey has found. Transparency International, the leading… – Continue reading

Singapore says will adopt OECD pact to tackle tax cheats by 2018

(Reuters) – Singapore will implement a global agreement on swapping tax information, aimed at ending offshore tax evasion, by 2018, provided certain conditions are met, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said. Singapore would adopt the standard drawn up by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that will require countries… – Continue reading

Hong Kong yuan business boosted by banks’ appointments as liquidity providers

Banks offered repo line to grow market-making activities for their offshore renminbi products Seven banks were appointed primary liquidity providers for offshore yuan business in Hong Kong yesterday to cement the city’s leading role as an offshore yuan centre, even as the market regulator urged international fund managers to apply… – Continue reading

UK aid investments target tax havens

Private sector arm of DfID and other EU development institutions channel significant investments to offshore havens, study finds More than two-thirds of the investments made by the private sector arm of the UK’s aid programme last year were channelled through “notoriously secretive” tax havens, according to a report that calls… – Continue reading

Indian Government Loses Major Tax Case to Vodafone

Vodafone sign in India. Photo: Ishan Khosla. Used under Creative Commons license. Vodafone recently won a rare – but potentially very significant – victory over Indian tax authorities. The Bombay High Court dismissed the government demand for the company to pay 30 billion rupees (about $490 million) for a share… – Continue reading

Large-scale account inheritance emerges in black money probe

NEW DELHI/BERNE: Accounts inherited from family members as also from previously-constituted trusts or companies have come to the fore in a big way, as India seeks further details from Switzerland about those suspected to have ‘unaccounted’ wealth parked in the Swiss banks. Hundreds of individuals and entities, including 627 names… – Continue reading

Black money row: Issue of unauthorized disclosure of names in violation of tax treaties, says Arun Jaitley

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said that the issue over the disclosure of the names of those who have illegally stashed their black money abroad is not a debate over the admission of confidential information but is a matter pertaining to the unauthorized expose of the names in… – Continue reading

New Primary Offshore Renminbi LPs Appointed by Hong Kong’s Monetary Authority

The offshore renminbi market in Hong Kong continues its development adding primary liquidity providers as a new swap agreement deal between the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the People’s Bank of China is incoming. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued an announcement today designating seven banks as Primary Liquidity… – Continue reading

Malaysia, Brunei to enhance cooperation

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) — Leaders of Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam expressed satisfaction Monday with the progress in bilateral cooperations. In a joint statement issued in conjunction with the 18th Annual Leaders’ Consultation held here, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib and the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah welcomed… – Continue reading

Chasing black money: How parties are resisting transparency in funding

Given a choice of priority, should Indian authorities be chasing black money in circulation within the country or the illicit billions held in foreign banks? It is a nobrainer. Money whisked away abroad is tiny compared with the unaccounted money within India. Yet, the political system has long been barking… – Continue reading

Ex-Mizrahi Octogenarian Banker Acquitted at Tax Trial

A retired senior vice president at Israeli-based Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd. (MZTF) was acquitted in Los Angeles federal court on charges he helped U.S. customers conceal their assets from the Internal Revenue Service. Jurors deliberated four hours yesterday before clearing Shokrollah Baravarian, 82, of conspiring to defraud the U.S. and… – Continue reading

Black money: Preneet Kaur, ex-UPA minister, figures among 627 names submitted to SC

NEW DELHI: Former minister of state for external affairs in the UPA regime, Preneet Kaur, figures in the list of 627 names of Indians holding accounts in foreign banks, which was submitted by the Centre to the Supreme Court. Kaur, wife of former Punjab CM and Congress’s deputy leader in… – Continue reading

Tax treaties can’t be amended to drop confidentiality clause: official

If the Supreme Court insists on disclosures of all names, India won’t be able to sign any further treaties for exchange of information Vrishti Beniwal  |  New Delhi  November 1, 2014 Last Updated at 00:29 IST India cannot amend its Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) to drop the confidentiality clause… – Continue reading

Transfer pricing inflicting heavy losses

HA NOI (VNS) — Appropriate policies and enhanced management capacity are critical in the fight against transfer pricing to ensure a healthy business investment environment in Viet Nam, said experts on Wednesday. They were participating in an online discussion on the Government’s e-portal. Transfer pricing is causing losses to the… – Continue reading

“Taxation Must Go Global,” Says German Finance Minister

In one of the bluntest statements on the topic by any globalist thus far, controversial German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble (shown) openly called for “global standards” and “global governance” in taxation to ensure that governments can continue extracting huge sums in taxes from the wealth-producing class in perpetuity. In an… – Continue reading

Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj to visit Mauritius, Maldives over the weekend

NEW DELHI: Ahead of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s three-day visit to Mauritius from tomorrow, India today said amendments to the bilateral tax treaty with the island nation would be made only after taking into account the “legitimate interests” of both sides. Swaraj will also be visiting Male and hold… – Continue reading

Where did all the black money come from and how did it get out of India?

Hawala networks are being replaced by sophisticated transfer pricing approaches. The image is easy to envision. Corrupt politicians, crooked corporate honchos and evil criminals stashing away their ill-gotten gains in shady Swiss banks. Thousands of crores of rupees that should be earning India tax revenue wilfully being hidden from authorities… – Continue reading

Government says its hands tied, defers tax treaty signing –

On a day when it furnished before the Supreme Court the full list of 627 Indians having accounts in foreign banks, the NDA government put off the signing of a crucial multilateral agreement aimed at facilitating access to financial information on taxpayers abroad. This has been prompted by the uncertainties… – Continue reading

Black money case fallout: India pulls out of multilateral information sharing agreement

New Delhi: A day after the Centre submitted its list of 627 Indians who have accounts in HSBC bank, Geneva for tax probe for suspected black money to Supreme Court, India has pulled out of multilateral information sharing agreement. The Mutilateral Competent Authority Agreement was signed by 51 countries in… – Continue reading

Only case-specific information can be disclosed: Switzerland

Amid a debate on disclosure of names of suspected black money holders, Switzerland on Thursday said information exchanged under the Swiss-India tax treaty cannot be disclosed “in principle” to a court or any other body outside the proceedings of a “specific and relevant” case. The comments come at a time… – Continue reading

Black Money List: The Timblo Trail, from Hong Kong to Goa

Mumbai, The Timblo family, named by the government in Supreme Court in connection with untaxed or black money in foreign accounts, parked money illegally in two foreign currency accounts in Hong Kong before pumping it back into India, NDTV has learnt. The family, which runs a Goa-based mining firm, had… – Continue reading

Black money: Info can’t be disclosed outside specific proceedings, says Switzerland

New Delhi/Berne: Amid a debate on disclosure of names of suspected black money holders, Switzerland today said information exchanged under Swiss-India tax treaty cannot be disclosed “in principle” to a court or any other body outside the proceedings of a ‘specific and relevant’ case. The comments come at a time… – Continue reading

India fails to attend meet on combating tax evasion

New Delhi/Berlin, Oct 29: India today failed to attend an OECD meeting in Berlin where a multilateral agreement requiring a commitment to follow international standards of confidentiality for information received relating to black money was signed. Official sources said that India was not able to attend the Berlin meeting where… – Continue reading

Switzerland remains largest offshore financial centre

Geneva: A huge global pressure to break secrecy veils of Swiss banks notwithstanding, Switzerland remains the world’s largest offshore financial centre with client assets totalling over USD two trillion, a new study said. Besides the country is expected to remain “the biggest offshore centre for private banking in 2018,” with… – Continue reading

OECD introduces further investor reporting

Financial institutions including fund managers will need to up the ante on client due diligence and bolster investor reporting following the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) agreement on the automatic exchange of information. The OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS) will force national authorities in the 51 signatory states… – Continue reading

Indian businesses in US risk higher penal taxes on fund transfer

NEW DELHI: Indian entities having businesses in the US risk higher penal taxes in the US on any fund transfer to the country if New Delhi fails to endorse a pact for information exchange by December 31 on grounds of confidentiality. New Delhi will find it difficult to sign the… – Continue reading