News
IRS Finalizes Rules for Whistleblower Awards Program
By Colby Adams
printThe Internal Revenue Service disclosed final rules set for publication next week that will clarify how and when informants can collect rewards for identifying tax cheats, but not money launderers. The 119-page rule, which stems from a 2006 law, outlines the stipulations of two whistleblower programs: one that that rewards informants who turn over "solid information" on individuals who owe more than $2 million and make more than $200,000 annually, and a secondary program that addresses lesser infractions by individuals with lower salaries. After proposing the regulations in December 2012, U.S. Treasury Department officials heard suggestions and complaints about the...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Subscribe
Learn More
Related News
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority will review its decision not to compensate whistleblowers from the financial services industry after a lawmaker complained the agency repeatedly fails employees coming forward to expose wrongdoing at their institutions.
I've always found it offensive when tabloids use terms like "rat" or "squealer" to describe the actions of those who report or testify about criminal behavior. It's no less offensive when one of the terms is used in defense of attorney-client privilege.
The Internal Revenue Service will no longer move to quickly seize funds linked solely in suspicious activity reports to potential structuring of legally derived money, an agency leader said Sunday.
Dozens of would-be informants from banks have contacted attorneys following the disclosure Tuesday that a former UBS AG banker received $104 million for reporting his institution's role in a tax evasion scheme.
A U.S. lawmaker is questioning an IRS decision not to reward whistleblowers who disclose potential violations of Bank Secrecy Act reporting requirements tied to accounts held at foreign financial institutions.
The effect of a planned whistleblower program expected to have an impact on anti-money laundering compliance departments will likely be mitigated by low funding and other issues, say consultants.
In the wake of the recession, compliance departments are grappling with implementing more regulations with fewer resources, a former bank regulator says.
U.S. and Canadian banks are among the over 260 companies asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to reconsider a new federal whistleblower program they say will undermine internal reporting controls.
U.S. tax authorities and a Senate investigatory team are looking into reports that the Cayman Islands branch of Bank Julius Baer helped American accountholders hide taxable revenue, according to the former chief of the bank's Caribbean operations.
The former chief executive officer of a Miami-based bank has filed a lawsuit against his former employers claiming that they fired him for refusing to violate anti-money laundering and corruption laws.
Former Bank COO Rudolph Elmer, who has been sued by Julius Baer for allegedly leaking hundreds of the bank's documents suggesting a systemic laxity toward tax evasion and money laundering, said the Swiss laws allow institutions to hide their criminal support for white collar criminals.