NPB Neue Privat Bank, a Swiss private bank based in Zurich, and the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division signed a non-prosecution agreement on July 18, 2018, by which NPB will pay a $5 million penalty for aiding U.S. taxpayers in opening accounts to conceal assets and income from the U.S. government. Between August 2008 and December 2015, NPB managed approximately $400 million annually in both declared and undeclared assets. The bank failed to disclose the identities of American clients to the Internal Revenue Service after entering into a Qualified Intermediary Agreement in 2001 whereby it was to report U.S. securities transactions to the IRS on Forms 1099 and obtain Forms W-9 from new and existing U.S. clients to help verify their tax compliance.
“The Department of Justice is committed to ending the practice of using foreign bank accounts to evade taxes,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “Taxpayers and financial institutions should take notice that the Department is continuing to aggressively pursue these cases.”
To read more about NPB’s case, click here.
There is a limited time left to disclose your foreign assets using the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure program (learn more here). Contact our attorneys today to discuss options for getting into compliance with your offshore accounts.