As we all know, there are people who do not want the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to know about their banking transactions and other information, and therefore form various methods to evade them. One of these methods is setting up offshore bank accounts, which individuals set up foreign bank accounts and transfer money towards it as a tax shelter.

Contrary to what one may believe, offshore banking is legal and is not always affiliated with tax evasion or money laundering. In fact, there are situations in which offshore banking is completely permissible. However, offshore banking is complex and if you don’t fully understand what you are doing, you may put yourself at risk of criminal liability for crimes perpetuated by offshore banking.

When offshore banking is done incorrectly…

Offshore banking is often associated with illegal activities. One of the most commonly known is tax evasion. If you set up an offshore bank account, you will still need to report your savings to the IRS by filing a TD F 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts.

Failure to file your offshore bank account with the IRS will probably give the feds an opportunity to launch an investigation on you for tax evasion. In recent news, UBS was pressured by U.S. government officials into releasing the names of American account holders of suspected tax evasion. After the names were released, extensive investigation were launched and some of them prosecuted in New York Federal Courts.

If you are being investigated for tax evasion…

Prevention is usually the best way to go. At the beginning of a fraud investigation, it is best to seek an experienced federal criminal defense counsel for a consultation on what to do next before speaking with the IRS.

If you are being investigated or arrested for tax evasion or money laundering in Long Island, then call out Long Island Tax Fraud Lawyers at (516) 204-7611 to get professional legal advice.