The introductory bullet points in the article are:
- Pictet says will cooperate with U.S. justice
- Pictet says business with U.S. clients complies with law
- Bank had already handed over account data
- Swiss seeking deal to get investigations dropped
The following is from a Tax Notes Today article, Kristen A. Parillo, Swiss Bank Pictet Under Investigation by Justice Department, 2012 TNT 228-3 (11/27/12)
Jeffrey A. Neiman, the former assistant U.S. attorney who led the prosecution of Swiss bank UBS, said that it's clear from Pictet's November 26 statement that the bank is under investigation by a federal grand jury. "I think we need look no further than the Wegelin matter to see how the Justice Department views Swiss cantonal banks who continue to assist Americans with assets overseas," said Neiman, who is now a criminal defense attorney in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., referring to the U.S. government's February indictment of Swiss bank Wegelin & Co. for facilitating criminal tax fraud. "This is a clear message that the U.S. government's efforts to bring Americans into compliance is still ongoing." (For prior coverage of the Wegelin case, see Doc 2012-2872 or 2012 TNT 29-8 .)
Edward M. Robbins Jr., a former U.S. prosecutor now with Hochman, Salkin, Rettig, Toscher & Perez PC, said it was clear Pictet was on the U.S. government's radar because IRS criminal investigators who were assisting Southern District of New York prosecutors in their grand jury investigations of offshore banks have interviewed participants of the IRS's offshore voluntary disclosure initiatives (OVDI) who disclosed Pictet as one of the banks they did business with.
"The OVDI clients were questioned about their relationship with Pictet," Robbins said. "That led me to believe there is an ongoing grand jury investigation and that the grand jury is focusing on Pictet. Beyond that, you can draw any conclusions."
Bank Frey is also now "on the list".
ReplyDeleteWhat is interesting is the interplay between this recent news and IRS OVDP FAQ 21: "the IRS may announce that certain taxpayer groups that have or had accounts at specific financial institutions will be ineligible due to U.S. government actions in connection with the specific financial institution."
Could the IRS now close the OVDP door to account holders at Frey and Pictet? This did not occur this past summer when it was announced that Liechtensteinische Landesbank was turning over banking info to DOJ. The OVDP door remained open to taxpayers with accounts at LLB. How long the OVDP door will remain open is an important unknown.
Asher,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. The IRS could close the door. The IRS makes the rules of the voluntary disclosure game. However, it does not seem to me that the IRS would want to do that. But I am not the rulemaker.
Jack Townsend
Minor point, but Neiman is calling Wegelin and Pictet "cantonal" banks. These are "private" banks meaning their stock is not sold to the general public. Cantonal banks are owned by a canton (similar to one of the 50 states in the US.)
ReplyDeleteAlso, Pictet is one of the (very few) banks still offering accounts to Americans. Clients must waive any bank secrecy to the US. Pictet has high fees and high minimums.