If you are a signatory on an offshore or foreign bank account but you do not earn income from that account, you likely do not think about it very often. Many family members have joint accounts with multiple signatories and non-beneficiary owners often have no actual transactions with the account over the course of the year. 

Investors who have money in offshore accounts need to be aware that the Internal Revenue Service is looking to make examples out of those who do not declare their accounts. Just recently, a new indictment was announced against a U.S.-citizen/Kentucky resident with money that was kept in undeclared offshore accounts. This investor who has been indicted faces up to five years of incarceration if he is convicted of the charges he faces. 

According to Trib Live “more than half the world’s money passes almost undetected through a series of financial black holes that shelter it from not only the tax collector but form shareholders, partners and wives.”

Bank Leumi is the second largest bank in Israel. The bank allegedly helped American investors avoid their income tax obligations by structuring sham loan arrangements with investors. The “loan” arrangements would allow investors to avoid paying the amount of taxes that they owe to the U.S. government, but they would still have access to their funds.

The U.S. government is determined to stop tax evasion and they are doing so by going after banks and bankers. Unfortunately for the clients of those bankers, many are willing to turn over information on their clients as part of plea deals to avoid jail time or lessen their personal consequences.  Some banks have already paid huge fines and some bankers are already on trial.